The Hollows Mask
by JadeKurosaki
Summary: My first story starts from Karakura arc and goes from there.  Pairings: IchigoXOC, RukiaXRenji, UlquiorraXOrihime, and ToshiroXKarin.  Hope you like and please Review.
1. From Boring to Annoying

**The Hollows Mask**

Me: This is my very first story and I hope you like it. It is actually a story that both me and my best friends made up together. I've worked very hard on this. So let's get this party started! I'm sorry, but I own nothing, wish I did but I don't. (Sighs longingly)

_This means mental talking_

This means that Shirozangetsu, Hichigo, Zangetsu, Shiva or any other inner hollow or zanpakuto is talking

_Together means that they are just talking in my head or in anyone else's head_

**Prologue: Shadowed Beginning**

3rd Person POV: Barnwell, South Carolina

A figure in a white coat with a black robe underneath scans the area with indifferent eyes. A skull like mask rest in her hands. She's alone, standing on one of the many small buildings in the center of the town. It was nearly midnight and nothing really interesting had happened yet as she looks around with a bored look on her face.

She looks up, noticing something. She smiles and then disappears as if she was never even there. All that's left is a small swirl of wind and disturbed fallen leaves on the place where she stood.

She then appears on a house in some residential part of the small town. The house is small, in fact, it is only a doublewide trailer that rested beside a small playground in a trailer park on the edge of the town.

Her long brown hair, bound in a rubber band, flows in the light breeze as she waits patiently for something. She places the mask in a pocket somewhere in her black robe as she draws a sword from the sheath at her side. She faces the huge monster when it appears in front of her as it flies in the air.

"I swear, the hollows just keep coming". She said quietly to herself. She looked at the sneering face of a huge monster that she called a hollow. Her pulled back hair whips around wildly in the heavy wind that is created from the hollow's massive wings. The most noticeable thing is the mask on the hollow's face and the huge hole in its chest.

"Hehe, a soul reaper. Just my luck. You'll be the fifth soul reaper that I've eaten". The hollow's long tongue slithers from its mouth and seems to taste the air. The woman hesitates for an instant in mild surprise. Then an unsettling grin grows on her face. Her brown eyes glint darkly.

"Well, well, well. Seems like you've been a problem for the Soul Society huh"? The hollow's face contorts even more, giving the impression that it is smiling.

"Yeah, so? But I am actually looking for the wielder of this strong reiatsu that resides here. I'll eat you though, for an appetizer". The hollow begins laughing just as three dark spears tear into its body. Each spear seems to originate from the woman's shadow, created by the crescent moon's light. The three shadow spears retract and disappear instantaneously.

As the blood drips to the ground from the three new holes in the hollow's body, a huge slash mark appears on its chest and more blood spurts to the ground. It joins with the rest of it and tints the roof a deep red color that humans would never be able to see. The hollow freezes in shock and pain as the woman swings her blade to remove the blood from it.

"What a loud mouth". She says as she sheaths her blade with an audible click. The hollow screams out.

"DAMMMMMNNN"! The hollow seems to vanish, but then rematerializes. A huge door appears from the ground and a huge sword held by a giant armored arm appears as the door opens. The sword stabs the hollow directly in the center. A deep laugh could be heard as the sword drags the hollow into the fiery place beyond the doors. The doors shut and then shatter as if they never existed.

"Well that one went to Hell. What a bore. That's the third one this week that I've had to deal with. This girl's powers are definitely ready if she's attracting this much attention from the hollows". She says as she pulls a cell phone from her pocket and checks the date. It's October 30. She grins as she takes off into the air.

**Chapter 1: From Boring to Annoying.**

Dominique's POV

"Yawwwwwn." I said as I sat in my usual seat in my boring as all get out fifth grade math class. I was staring off into space, thinking about how it would be funny as hell if those little paper ghost that were hanging from the ceiling were real.

_'If only normal people could see ghost like me'._ I thought to myself as I doodled pictures of animals on my paper. The teacher was droning on about circles, area, circumference, and pie. BORING! I despised math class, and this teacher sucked at her job. I personally wanted to lob a paper ball at her.

_'Later'._ I thought wickedly to myself. I was about to die from the boredom when my friend Emma Moody started talking to her boyfriend Shuan Sata about what they were going to do tonight. I ears easily picked up their conversation and it was entertaining to say the least. It was Halloween and they were talking about going to some party and trashing it as well as pulling several pranks around town.

I smiled weakly to myself. Then I sighed; I had to go with my family to keep an eye on my two little brothers. At least my cousins were coming along so I could at least have a little fun. I rested my head back on my shoulders and scowled up at the ceiling as I slouched in my desk. It was so unfair that she got to go have fun on her own, her mom rocked. My parents were too damn over-protective.

Oh well, Emma was my best friend, and she usually had a blast doing whatever she wanted. Whether it was hanging out with me and my family, or playing pranks with her boyfriend on the unsuspecting people of this town. She would be pulling some serious pranks tonight from what I'd heard from their conversation. I almost felt bad for the teachers and other people who would have eggs all over their houses, as well as the poor unsuspecting people that would be mentally scarred from Emma's and Shaun's costumes that they'd showed me.

Chainsaws, Freddy Cougar, and several other props that would scare the crap out of people.

"Emma, have fun tonight." I said turning to her. Emma looked like me with dark brown hair that was about the same length as mine, but hers had nice waves and curls in it that she didn't even have to do anything to get it that way. Not to mention the natural red highlights in it that she was born with. Her eyes were deep golden brown and she wore a pair of glasses that she only uses in school, oh, not to mention that she was almost a head taller than me.

Her boyfriend Shuan, had spiky, dark blonde hair that was always messy and orangey/yellow eyes, which was weird, but I thought they were cool like Emma did. He was tall and lanky, but he had some muscles on him for an eleven year old kid, that was why he was on almost every sports team at school.

"Thanks." She had an excited smile on her face. I turned back around in my seat and sighed as I fiddled with my hoodie zipper. Then finally, the bell rang and I was out the door in an instant with my book bag in my left hand. It was always nice to sit right beside the door; you were always the first one out.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I was starting to get really ticked off. My cousin Kiera, was dragging out this game of tag way too long. I continued to run though, even with the witch costume I was wearing that was making the running harder than normal.

_'Stupid dress'._ I was not the kind of person to easily give up, even a kiddie game like this. My feet moved loudly beneath me in my tennis shoes. I hated the fact that I couldn't run stealthfully. Not to mention, I was tiring quickly. I wasn't much of a runner to begin with, and the dress was so not helping what with it being down to my ankles.

Then I saw the perfect hiding place, it was a huge old tree that when it was day its leaves made it look as if it was on fire. I ran as fast as I could and ducked behind the tree, away from the street, and away from my cousin's eyes. I listened carefully, making sure to keep my breath controlled in case she came close to my hiding spot. I listened for a while and heard my cousin calling my name in the distance.

Her voice continued to get fainter and fainter as she went in the wrong direction. I let out an exasperated sigh. I was dead tired. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the trunk of the tree to rest for a minute or so. I heard a rustling of leaves and my eyes shot open, thinking that someone was coming. I looked around and saw that no one was anywhere near me. Then I looked up, and WHAP! Something hard had landed on my head and bounced to the ground.

I sat there, rubbing the forming lump on my head for a minute. I looked around for what fell on my head. I saw a large white mask on the ground. I picked it up and looked at it. This thing was freaking creepy looking! It looked like a skull with blood red stripes on the left side of it.

"Cool!" I touched the cold material that it was made of. It felt like something that resembled bone. It weighed nothing almost and it seemed like the sort of thing someone would wear on Halloween, but I didn't see a string on the back that would hold it in place, or even a place for a string to go in. I was admiring it and wondering how someone would even wear this thing when I heard my mom's voice calling me from a short distance away.

"Dominique! Where are you? It's time to go home, come on." My mother called out to me from about thirty meters away. I grabbed the strange mask and placed it in my halfway filled mini book bag of candy. I located my parents in the car with my cousins. I hopped into the van and grabbed my witch's hat to put it back on my head as I sat down in my seat.

Kiera was obviously mad at me for winning the game. She glared at me with a pout on her face. She was two years younger than me and was seriously competitive. I had a wicked smirk on my face and my eyes felt weird. Kiera's eyes went wide with shock at my expression.

I struggled to compose my face, but for some reason I only wanted to grin wider. I was soon able to control my facial expression though. My thoughts kept returning to that weird mask. It was strange since usually things didn't trouble me like this unless it was something very important.

We eventually got back to the house and we all had dinner. After a shower, I grabbed my bag and went to my room to sort through my candy. I reached into my bag and the first thing I pulled out was the mask. I took a closer look at it and touched one of the red lines gently. A crack formed where I had touched it and then the mask shattered into thousands of pieces in my hands.

All I could do was sit there and try not to cry, because every time I get mad, I cry like a four year old throwing a tantrum. I ground my teeth and threw away the pieces into the trash can beside my bed. I decided that I might as well go to bed since tomorrow was Friday and I still had school tomorrow after all. I moved to go turn off my light on the other side of the room.

Just as I was about to hit the switch, I heard a menacing laugh. It was high pitched and metallic, but the worst part was that it sounded like it was right beside me, as if someone else was in my room with me. I felt shivers run up my spine, my hair stand up on end, and my heartbeat accelerate.

I looked around in fear, expecting to see some creepy bad guy in my room or something similar. I'd seen a lot of scary movies in the past year and so that was my first thought, but no one was there. I put it off as my over active imagination, turned off my light, and laid down on my bed. I quickly fell into unconsciousness as sleep overcame me.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I slowly became aware that I felt grass under my left cheek and for some reason there was a light pressure on my back, even though I was laying on my stomach. There was a cool breeze that was blowing over me that felt really nice.

Wait...I was supposed to be inside, right? Cool breeze? Grass? What the hell? I opened my eyes to a soft light and a humongous mass of green. I stood up and looked around in confusion.

_'Where am I'?_ I thought to myself. All I saw were trees, huge trees at that. There was no way I was still in my old home. All we had were pine trees with the occasional oak tree around our house, but these trees were like those in old movies...huge ass cedars...maybe they were redwoods...I think. I wasn't a tree expert so I didn't know.

I decided that I might as well look around while I was here. I quietly explored my surroundings. My eyes darted everywhere as I looked at the huge trees lumbering over me. The branches above me were huge too, as if they could hold people on top of them, and the foliage was so thick that I couldn't see the sky through them. The strange thing was though that I could see everything around me, even though I was in the shadows. It was seriously freaky, but cool at the same time.

The ground was covered in light green grass that cushioned my footsteps as I walked along. It was also very quiet. The only sound I heard was the light breeze whispering through the trees, as if it was calling me. And I could of sworn at one point I heard the bubbling of a creek nearby, I couldn't locate it though.

I explored for what seemed like hours before I finally made it through the forest to an open clearing. I looked up at the sky and all I saw was a soft blanket of clouds, the ones that looked like they could make rain, but usually didn't. I looked at the field and saw that it was covered in wild flowers of all different types and colors.

I didn't have time to really appreciate it though when I heard that chilling laugh again. The hair on the back of my neck stood up on end as another shiver ran down my spine.

This time it seemed slightly farther away, but it still made me freeze in fear. I looked around and saw a white teenage looking boy sitting in a low hanging tree branch across the clearing. He had his head down as if he was asleep. His hair was white, his skin was white, even the outfit he was wearing was white.

His outfit was weird because it looked like a male Japanese kimono, the kind that you only see in old fighting movies. I also noticed something that sent my skin prickling, he had a huge cleaver like sword on his back, and it was wrapped in a black cloth.

I didn't know how I knew it was a sword, I just had an intuitive feeling that told me so.

He lifted his head and looked at me with a dark smirk on his face. My eyes met his and I felt that I couldn't move. His eyes had sent a hard stab of fear right to the pit of my stomach. His eyes were black with gold irises. They were hard, cynical, and made me think that monsters really did exist.

"So, you gonna say something?" His voice was high pitched and metallic, like metal scraping against metal. He was the owner of the laughs from earlier. I couldn't even make my mouth move from the fear that gripped me. It rooted me to the spot.

_'What's wrong with me'?_ I couldn't even move my lips. He looked at me, one eyebrow rose in a show of confusion before he smirked.

"What? Cat got your tongue? Hahahahahah!" He laughed at his own joke. He stood up, looked at me with a smirk on his face, and then he disappeared for an instant.

Then suddenly he was right in front of me. I had just enough power to look up to see his face. I had to struggle to compose myself and to make my muscles work. I willed my mouth to move as I asked my question.

"Who-o-o are you?". Came the frightened voice from my mouth.

"I have no name, but the zanpakuto on my back is called Zangetsu". He said with a motion to the sword on his back as he smirked at me. I had to guess that zanpakuto meant the sword, I knew absolutely no Japanese what so ever, or whatever language it was.

'_Why does the sword or zanpakuto as he called it have a name, __but he doesn't? Okay, why am I thinking about that? He's probably about to kill me. So stupid'._ I mentally kicked myself for my old habit of random thoughts.

"Well I guess we should get started. Draw your zanpakuto now". He said as he reached up for the huge blade on his black. His dark eyes looked down at me mockingly as he smirked. My eyes widened in shock, other than that though, I was still unable to move.

_'What'?_ I thought in fear. He paused and looked around with an irritated look on his face, his smirk fading. His eyes scanning the cloudy sky as his scowl deepened on his face.

"Well...damn. Looks like you gotta wake up. I guess we'll have to do this some other time. See ya later", He said as he took a step backwards. He grinned at me, and the next thing I knew; I was falling.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

My eyes flew open and I jerked upright, successfully dropping myself out of my bed and onto my right shoulder. I ignored the pain in my side and ran to the light switch to turn it on, tripping several times in my haste.

I was back in my room, and alone it seemed. I sank to the floor and sighed, half in relief, and half in fading fear. I had been half expecting that dark eyed person with that sword to appear in front of me and kill me.

"It must have been a nightmare". I said under my breath, as if to assure myself. That had been the first nightmare I'd had in a long time, and it was unlike any nightmare I'd ever had before. I slowly stood up and went to my clock, absently rubbing my sore shoulder where it hit the floor. It was almost five in the morning.

'_Well as long as I'm awake I might as well get ready for school'._ At least today was Friday. So I could hopefully relax this weekend. I just wanted to forget that dream, but it kept replaying in my head. I went to my bathroom to brush my hair and teeth. I looked at myself in the reflection, and sighed quietly to myself.

I had to stand on my tiptoes just to see my own face in the mirror. I'd always been short, and I didn't like the way I looked. In fact the only thing I liked about my face were my blue/green/gray eyes (they tended to change color according to my mood) and my heavy, dark chocolate brown hair. Those were the only things at school that those other kids couldn't pick on me about.

I began brushing all the knots out of my hair, after a while I gave up on that since my hair wasn't in the mood to listen to me today. So I put my hair up in a ponytail using the little band I had around my wrist. I left the four bangs that fell to my face alone, enjoying how they could hide my eyes when I ducked my head. I looked back in the mirror to check how I looked. I looked at my eyes and then suddenly I saw black tendrils snake across my vision. Through my right eye I saw my left iris turn gold as the black seeped across it.

Then I no longer saw myself in the mirror, I saw **him**; smirking at me, that boy from my dream. I grabbed my head in between my hands and I shook it in fear; trying to dispel whatever illusion I was seeing. I fell to the floor, scared out of my mind. I clamped my mouth shut to hold in the scream as I used my feet to scoot myself to the wall of my bathroom. This was definitely not a dream.

_'LEAVE ME ALONE!'_ I screamed out mentally. I noticed that when I said that, I felt a presence in my mind, that there was someone else there. I opened my eyes and I noticed that I could see out of both of them again. I sighed in relief, but I was still wary.

I practically crawled back to my room. I shut the door and sat there on the floor thinking what should I do? Tell someone? No way, that would get me sent to an insane asylum. Could I deal with this myself? Probably not, but what other choice do I have?

'_None.'_ What the hell man?! He could talk in my fucking head?! That pissed me off more than frightened me. What? Couldn't I get a little privacy?

I took several calming breaths to slow down my breathing as I forced my more rational side to take control, just like what I'd done when I used to get picked on as a little kid, or got yelled at by my military grandfather. I was no longer some little kid that could be scared easily. It took me a minute to compose myself to reply. I was too busy trying to remain clear headed and calm.

_'Well? Aren't you gonna give me a snappy comeback or something'?_ He said with a superior tone that pissed me off, but left me not fearing him as much. I still didn't answer him. In fact, he was unintentionally helping me get used to him.

I could hear him laughing at me, inside of my head.

_'What? Are you so scared that you wet your pants or something? Well? Answer kid'._ He yammered. I got instantly pissed off.

'_SHUT! UP!' _ I snapped at him; aggravated. This was going to be annoying as hell, but my resolve solidified. I would deal with this, no matter what it takes.

Me: Well that's chapter one, hoped you liked it. I'm going out on the thing that Shirozangetsu, as he will be named, isn't totally bad. You'll see later, I promise. Ichigo and the others are coming soon so don't get mad that he and the others were not in this chapter. Oh, please review I need some constructive criticism, you can flame, as long as those flames are directed at Aizen, who is a gay traitor bastard who deserves to be tortured.

Song: Monster by Skillet

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND SHIROZANGETSU, HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	2. Fight for my Life

Me: Aren't you all happy chapter two is here? I own nothing.

**Chapter 2: Fight for my Life**

Dominique's POV

I got to my first period English class early. Emma was sitting in her usual seat, but something was off. She wasn't talking to Shuan this morning and she seemed like she was tired. She had her head on her desk as if she hadn't slept at all last night. Shuan was the same way.

I wondered absently what happened to my two friends. They were usually yammering away this early in the morning.

I took my seat and I actually tried to pay attention in class. I couldn't though. My mind kept going back to that "dream/nightmare" and I kept seeing his face in my mind.

Then as if that wasn't bad enough…

'_Sup, whatcha doing'?_ I cringed in my seat, but kept my face composed. Now he had to talk. Even more importantly, he used a Phineas and Ferb line. How stupid.

'_Shut up dammit'._ I snapped at him a little bit more aggressively than I probably should have been, but screw it. School irked me and he so wouldn't help with the situation.

'_Why? And what's with the language? You're supposed to be what, ten? __Why do you have the vocabulary of a teenager'?_ He asked in a curious tone with his strange metallic voice. A tick mark appeared on my forehead.

'_Just shut up and leave me alone'._ I ordered. I refused to be tormented by him. Once I had gotten over the initial fear, I just found this guy annoying. Sure he had a sword, but he was in my head and not out here. Ha take that! I had the advantage here, though the fact that I had someone else besides myself in my head was seriously weird. Maybe I had that condition where you start hearing voices in your head or something. Schiza- or something like that.

'_Why, when it's so much fun bugging you'?_ He laughed. I growled at him mentally. That actually surprised me; Emma was the growler, not me...weird.

'_Yo__u are in my head and you will listen to me. Now shut up so I can focus on school'._ I ordered.

'_Nope. I'm gonna bug you till you go nuts'._ I laughed at that. I've gone through a lot in my life already, he wouldn't be able to do what several dozen people have tried and failed to do.

'_Ha! Fat chance of that albino boy'._ I jeered.

_'You'll see'._ He said ominously.

_'Whatever dude'._

OoOoOoOoOoOo

So he continued to bug me like that. It lasted for about three weeks. I would try to focus on class and he would pop up and start talking. Sometimes it would be about other people and sometimes he would just talk to get on my nerves. Soon though, I got so used to his talking that I even started having conversations with him...or at least tried to that is. Who knew that could be possible?

He never called himself by a name so I decided to call him Zangetsu since he said he didn't have a name and it just seemed to fit. I never called him by that though, that was just my title for him instead of calling him albino boy, or thing.

Today though he was completely silent. He hadn't insulted me, bugged me, or even said anything for that matter all day. I was curious.

_'What? No questions or insults today huh?' _Silence still.

_'Hey are you listening? HEY'!_ I was brought out of my thoughts by Emma.

"Dominique, you ready for tonight?" Emma asked me. She was turned around in her seat in our English class. She was looking at me with her goldish brown eyes behind her reading glasses.

She had, for some odd reason, changed that night when I got Zangetsu in my head. She had an air of aloofness about her ever since that Halloween Night. That and there was something else about her that made me think of a predator, but I didn't know why. Shuan had also changed a bit, but then again he'd always been aloof. Not to mention, he didn't have that same feeling about him that Emma had.

Neither of us said anything other than the normal running and cutting up that had happened that night, normal Halloween stuff. We seemed to have a silent agreement that both of us had changed somewhat since that night. Even though we both knew this, we acted normal anyway.

"Yah sure, can't wait". I said with a smile. Something was definitely off, and it wasn't Emma distance, I mean I've gotten used to the constant chattering and insults from Zangetsu, but the silence was disturbing. He hadn't talked all day.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Finally, when school was over, both Emma and I went to walk to my house, well our new one where my family would be moving to in a matter of weeks. We were to wait there until my parents came to get us. Tonight was our slumber party. We were about halfway there now, but we were in a dangerous area. It was mostly woods and the road was hardly used by cars.

Something was making the hair on the back of my neck stand up on end, like there was danger nearby. It was like there was a slight nudging on my mind to get away from this area as quickly as possible.

We were just passing a large clump of bushes when someone jumped out of them and grabbed my hand. Next thing I knew was that I felt something cold pressed against my temple with my hand held painfully behind my back. I looked out of the corner of my eyes, and I saw a man; probably around twenty-five, holding a gun to my head. I also picked up the strong scent of alcohol in the air.

"You both will come with me or I'll kill you. I've got plans for the two of you". He said with a drunken sneer on his face. He twitched his gun for emphasis; the creepy grin on his face grew worse. I felt a sharp pang of fear in my chest, but other than that I felt something stronger building up in my mind; rage, joy, and most frightening of all, bloodlust coursing hot and heavy through my body.

The world around me began to blur out of focus as Zangetsu's power began flowing through me. I could tell it was him because he had stayed in my head for so long; I was so used to it that I could actually identify it from my own energy. It seemed that mind what lighter, but his energy was dark, heavy, and full of malice, not to mention he had much more energy than I did. The feeling of him trying to take over was so strange that I almost tried to fight it off, but my instincts told me to let him take over for the sake of survival.

I could feel him trying to take over my body, but instead of fighting him, I let him take control, in fact, I forced him to take full control. This surprised him, but he didn't say anything as he focused his power. I felt that same blackness creep across my eyes as before. When they had been completely covered, I then found out that I could see normally again.

My eyes blinked on their own. When I tried to move my hand, it didn't move, and my head bent down on its own as well. I had absolutely no control of my own body, and even though the sensation screamed to my mind as a violation, I knew that this was what would save me and my friend. And also the strangest thing was that it seemed like I was meant to do this.

I felt my lips turn up in a feral smile and I felt a light pressure on the left side of my face. Then my free hand moved like lightning and grabbed the gun out of the man's hand. My other hand twisted around and grabbed the man's wrist. I felt power rushing through me, it was almost as if my body was lifting with the sheer energy that was coming from Zangetsu.

My head jerked up and the man screamed in fear as he saw my eyes. His drunken, glazed eyes widening in pure terror. Just as he screamed, my hand twisted, and I heard the sharp crack of the man's wrist breaking in my grip.

He screamed again, but this time it was both in pain and fear. My lips opened up and Zangetsu's high pitched laugh came out of my mouth. The man ran off into the bushes, screaming something about a demon. My hand tossed the gun down onto the ground and smashed it in half with my foot. After that, it was kicked into the bushes and was now invisible and unusable to any passersby. Then Zangetsu returned control to me.

'_That was fun. We should hunt him down and finish the job'._ He said in excitement. I was in a daze from going from no control to having control again over my body. It was like the feeling of being weightless then having gravity suddenly reappear like on a rollercoaster.

'_Sorry but no, there are bigger things to worry about, like Emma saw everything'._ I countered, coming out of the daze. He sighed, but gave up, giving me the silent treatment again. I moved my hand to my face and pulled off the thing that was on it. It turned out to be part of that mask that I found, well…err, hit me on the head. Then it disintegrated, like dust in the wind, and blew away.

I sighed as I looked up at Emma. I would worry about this strange power later. Surprisingly, she didn't look scared; she looked as if she just saw the coolest thing ever. Her eyes were sparkling and she had a smile on her face. I was confused, but I decided to try and not freak her out, so I immediately went on the defensive.

"Emma, I'm sorry you had to see that, you're not gonna tell anybody are you?" I cautiously asked. Emma deadpanned for a second, and then got all excited again. She then ran up to me and gave me a bear hug. The breath was knocked out of me, and I tried to get her to let me go. Soon enough she let go and I bent over my knees to catch my breath. Emma looked at my with a giddy smile on her face.

"I swear I won't tell anyone. I'm just glad I'm not the only one that has powers! Oh! How long have you had your powers, and how did you get them?!" That definitely took me by surprise.

"Wait a minute. You have someone in your head too?" I asked curiously after I regained the ability to speak. I looked up at her questioningly. She nodded her head, and then she began explaining what she was. We talked all the way to my house.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

That night we continued to talk about the powers that we had, though we were careful not to talk about it in front of my parents. She didn't have anybody like Zangetsu in her head but she had more than one person in her head, two people to be exact; Diego and Daemon. I was sort of relieved that I wasn't the only one that had people in their head, so at least I wasn't crazy. I felt Zangetsu's disbelief at that, he laughed his crazy laugh before going silent again.

I told him to shut up and for once he did, even though I could feel his silent mirth. I wanted to have a talk with him. That night I went to sleep with a plan to find out some things from him. I would try to go back to that dream place where I'd first met him. I closed my eyes and imagined myself falling backwards through a dark tunnel.

The next thing I felt was grass on my face. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in that same meadow as before. I stood up, looked down at my body and noticed that I was wearing a kimono looking thing, just like Zangetsu did, but mine was black instead of white with a red chain-like thing around my torso. The sleeves were extremely long and it was very comfortable, explaining for the easy movement.

_'And I thought that a pair of cotton pants and a cotton shirt were nice. This blows them out the field'._ I felt the unfamiliar pressure on my back again. I reached back and I felt something long, hard, and warm to the touch. I grabbed it, and the thing came off with ease. I lifted it up and placed it in front of me so I could see it.

It was a zanpakuto like Zangetsu's, but again, it was the opposite of his, mine was wrapped in a white cloth instead of black. It was warm where I touched it, like as if it was alive. It felt like an extension of my arm instead of a huge blade of metal, it felt cool in a weird way, like it was a part of me instead of just a sword. I gripped it tighter in my right hand and the cloth fell away, except at the handle. It was huge and the blade looked menacingly sharp.

_'Awesome'! _ I thought to myself. I had the strangest feeling, like a feather touching against my mind. It was sort of like when Zangetsu talked to me, but much lighter and not annoying in any way. Once again, I didn't have any time to really investigate what had happened before I was interrupted again.

I heard a familiar laugh and saw Zangetsu standing across the clearing with his zanpakuto rested against his shoulder. It was bare, like mine was, the cloth was moving in the cool breeze that filled the air. I saw that even the metal of our blades were opposite. He smirked at me, and I remembered the last comment he had said before I'd left this place the last time.

We would fight.

He disappeared and then he reappeared in the air above me with the sword raised high above his head in his right hand. He had a wild, crazed look to his eyes as he brought the sword down towards me.

I reacted instinctively and somehow brought my own sword up in time to stop his attack. I knew he should have been able to crush me in a second, but for some reason I felt strong. I was struggling, but I was actually standing my ground. I used my left hand to help hold my blade up. My body was instinctively balancing itself to fight against his strength.

I grunted and shoved back; using strength I didn't know I had. He flew away from me and he stood at the other end of the meadow again with a surprised look to his face that probably mirrored my own. I knew he was going to attack again so I ran at him with my zanpakuto held high with my right hand. I was not about to die, especially not to this guy.

I found that I was running much faster than I ever had before; my feet seeming to barely touch the ground. I was inwardly surprised because I had never fought in my life, but it felt so natural to charge forward that. I was acting on pure instinct and it was an amazing feeling to say the least. I brought the blade down and he blocked it with one hand, the blade not even scratching him. He then lifted his foot up and placed a massive kick to my chest.

The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air and smashed into one of the huge trees that lined the clearing, the wind had long left my lungs. My head swung back and hit the tree too. Black dots filled my vision as pain shot through me. I felt my sword fly from my right hand at the moment of impact and I fell to the ground in a heap on my buckled legs. I got up on my hands and knees and coughed as I tried to drag some oxygen back into my lungs. I saw blood land on the grass in front of me. I cringed away from it.

I then saw a foot appear in front of me. My instincts screamed at me to move as fear and adreniline rushed through me. I gathered all of my strength and jumped to the left to get away from him. I tried to run around him so I could at least get my sword so I could defend myself.

He came at me and I dived to the right, but he had already swung the blade. The sword slicing through the air at lightning fast speed. I fell to the ground hard, but I was able to jump back up to my feet with surprising agility.

I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder and I looked over just in time to see the blood spill out of a large gash. My hand instantly went to where he had cut me and felt the hot blood leaving my body.

Then I felt something, it felt like a pulse ran through my body. My fear was replaced with cold hate, my teeth bared themselves, and my vision turned red. My hand moved from my wound and I lowered into a crouch.

I rushed past him, I grabbed my zanpakuto, then crouched, and shot forward like a bullet, my feet barely touching the ground. I jumped and flew into the air with my only intention of causing him the same pain as me. I came down and landed a blow to his arm with my own blade, blood spilled from the wound, much like it had done with mine. The sight of the blood landing on the dark green grass made me smirk.

I then charged at him and then he was on his back from the full body tackle. I was standing on his chest and I was holding the zanpakuto blade tip to his throat. My teeth were bared and I was strangely growling through my clenched teeth.

He looked back up at me, waiting, as if he'd accepted fate. Like he knew this was going to happen.

I looked at him for a short moment and all of the hate left my body. My left arm was still hanging limply at my side with my own blood running down my arm, to my fingertips, and onto his kimono, staining it dark red. I removed the blade tip from his throat, and stepped off his chest. I slammed the zanpakuto down into the ground beside me and Zangetsu flinched. I smiled at that and lifted my right hand out to him. He stared at my hand suspiciously, but then he grabbed it, and I pulled him up. Well at least tried to, he was so tall, and a bit heavy, but I managed to get him to stand.

"So...instead of killing each other, why don't we make a deal. We can share the body and you show me how to control these powers. We won't try to kill each other". I offered. The thought had just come to mind, it just seemed like the right thing to do.

I mean, after all, I didn't truly dislike his company in my head, he was just a bit annoying most of the time...except when he just tried to kill me a few moments ago. He wasn't really bad, he helped save my best friend and asked for nothing in return. He had a shred of kindness in him.

"Ummmm... ok..., I guess we can work together. Wait. Why are you doing this"? His gold/black eyes were wary, as if I would turn on him and stab him through the gut at any moment.

"Because I'm not afraid of you anymore. I want to learn to fight like you. You can teach me how". I said as I smiled up at him. I always wanted to learn how to fight.

"Alright then, let's get started". He said with a smirk on his face.

The rest of the night I spent learning about Zangetsu. Every time I called him that he would remind me that he was nameless. He kept saying he didn't need a name and I decided to stop that. I sat down on the ground and pouted stubbornly.

"Well I just gave you a name and your name is Zangetsu, so just deal with it." I sat and turned my head away from him in a mock pout, I looked at him through the corner of my eye, and for some reason he smiled, not his crazy smile; a sweet smile that sort of made my heart melt. He smiled at me like as if I was his little sister, and I couldn't help but smile back at him.

He told me about what I was now. Apparently I was now a soul reaper, or the proper term, a shinigami. He explained that shinigami meant death god, and the only thing I could picture in my head was a grim reaper with the whole black cloak, and scythe deal.

I tried to keep up the best I could, but I was still pretty confused with him going back and forth between English and Japanese. I quickly forgot about the pain in my left shoulder.

Soon though he then began to show me fighting stances and basic fighting moves. (Trust and believe me they are harder than you think they are!) I soon had to wake up to a brand new day.

I carefully got up without waking Emma and tiptoed out of my room to my bathroom. I walked to my mirror and stretched up to look at myself. My face was calmer than what I had expected it to be after last night, especially after that fight. That's when I noticed something; a faint white outline peeking out from underneath my bed time tank top.

I moved the fabric to the side and was shocked to see a single fully healed scar that started from the top of my left shoulder and ended at the top of my young, undeveloped breast. I reached up to touch the scar and felt a small jolt of pain run through me. I winced.

_'Don't touch it'._ Zangetsu said.

_'Why'?_ I asked mentally. He sighed.

_'Cause it's a soul to body wound. Your soul's already healed from that wound and now your body is adjusting itself to match your soul form. Anytime you change your inward appearance, your outward appearance will change to match it and vice versa'._ He said. I nodded at the mirror. I took a closer look at my eyes and giggled when my irises flashed gold, then turned back to normal.

_'You know, we can't show that trick to my parents. They'd shit a brick'._ He laughed at my comment.

_'Yep, and you'll be able to control that soon enough. Just think, this is only the beginning'._ He said with an undertone of excitement running through his voice.

_'Yeah...the beginning of my true life'. _

OoOoOoOoOoOo

During the next few weeks both my physical body and my spiritual body became more muscular and fit. My parents were shocked that I could lose so much weight in such a short time. That and the scar that now adorned my left shoulder. I had a hard time coming up with an excuse for that.

I had lost any childhood fat and was now build like an Olympic adult, just in a child sized body. I was lean, still short of course, but I was still growing so I wouldn't be short forever...at least I hoped so.

I was fun sized and ready to kick ass!

I also learned many things about my new life; Zangetsu taught me how to fight, how to detect spiritual pressures known as reiatsu, and how to hide my own. I was now able to tell whether someone was stronger than another. My best friend Emma was a flame next to all the other people, so was Shuan.

He was just as bright as Emma; their spiritual pressures matched mine because they had inner hollows like I did. We were all the same. Their hollows weren't active yet, unfortunately. Then again, mine wasn't either, because Zangetsu told me that he had resided in the mask that fell on my head. He was not my true inner hollow.

I didn't understand why he was here, but I'm glad that he is.

One day at school; there was talk of a new girl coming to my class. I noticed her right away from her spiritual pressure, as soon as she stepped through the door, my senses were bombarded with information. She had a dark spiritual pressure about her. She reminded me of Zangetsu somewhat.

She had light brown hair, long and wild looking, as if she hadn't brushed it this morning. She was wearing a pair of glasses and her eyes were a deep emerald green.

Her energy was hollow-like in nature, as if she were a hollow herself. She timidly walked to her desk and sat down, twiddling her fingers nervously. She was the quiet type, that was for sure. It was apparent that most likely no one was going to try to be her friend, (most of the people here were pretty mean to people unless they were like them). I could tell that she wouldn't be a part of any stupid group; she was an outcast like me.

That afternoon I told Emma and Shuan about the girl. Emma told me that she heard the girl's name was Bree Still. So the next day we invited Bree to hang out with us. She paused, but then she agreed to sit with us at lunch. It turned out that she couldn't sense our powers. We each smiled a wry smile at her and she smiled back timidly. We became quick friends and our group grew.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

It's been four months now since I first met Zangetsu, and now I'm eleven. I've been learning Japanese from him. Now his name was Shirozangetsu, but I called him Zangetsu for short because he didn't like the Shiro part very much. White in Japanese was shiro so I decided to call him Shirozangetsu cause he was white. Hehe.

Today was the first time I was going to leave my body. No more training in my inner world, but for real in the World of the Living as he called it. Zangetsu had taught me shunpo or flash step in English terms, and I had achieved shikai; the first stage of the zanpakuto release. My zanpakuto's shikai was the move; Getsugatensho.

As soon as nine o'clock came around, I jumped onto my bed, and Zangetsu told me to relax my body and to clear my mind. I relaxed and the next thing I knew was that I felt like I was being pushed forward. I heard a whooshing sound as my soul left my body for the first time. I landed on my hardwood floor without a sound.

I stood in the center of my room, clad in my shihakusho as Zangetsu called it. My body was lying lifeless on my bed. I put the blanket on my body so my parents would be less likely to notice that my body wasn't breathing if they decided to check up on me in the middle of the night.

I ran to my door so I could sneak out the living room window. I rounded the corner out of the kitchen and nearly ran into my mother. I jumped back and landed lightly on my feet. My face was one of shock because my first thought was that she was going to see me.

She obviously didn't see me though and Zangetsu laughed at me. I let out a sigh of relief. I walked around her and made it to the window without any other incident. I didn't have to worry about my 2 and 3 year old brothers, because they were fast asleep in their room. I unlocked the window, jumped out onto the porch, and shut it again so they wouldn't notice. I ran out to my front yard and I stood there for a short moment, enjoying the sensation of just being out of my body for the first time.

I grinned hugely and I crouched down on the ground, my hands lightly touching the grass as I prepared to spring. I jumped up and I flew up into the night sky. I then straitened into a standing position and stopped in midair. I was using shunpo, or flash step in English.

I stood there for a second, making sure I had my balance, took a step forward out onto the air, and staggered. I nearly fell forward face first. I noticed that the energy out here was a whole heck of a lot less than what was in my inner world, as if this place hadn't seen any real activity in over a millennia. Zangetsu cracked up at that, and I couldn't help but to laugh as well.

After my laughing fit I jumped and flew into town by jumping on the air. I got the hang of using shunpo in the energy-less air pretty quickly. I got there so fast that I may have taken five good leaps and was already at the heart of the small town.

I closed my eyes in concentration to see if I could sense any soul reapers, hollows, or wholes, just like how Zangetsu told me how to. No soul reapers, well except for Emma and Shuan which I could sense at opposite ends of the town. Their powers hadn't developed yet though so they weren't at the center of my attention. I did sense a whole though, it was close by, and I rushed over to see to it.

I landed in a dark alley by one of the clothes stores in town. There was a little girl sitting on a box with a chain on her chest. She had torn clothes and what looked like a lot of blood all over them as well. I knew about this kid. She had been in the next town over, she'd gotten hit by an 18 wheeler when she was going to go get ice cream from the ice cream truck.

A pang of sadness filled me for the child's lost life. I shook myself out of it though, everyone died at some point or another and I'd have to get used to that fact if I was going to be doing this.

"Hello, what's your name? My name's Dominique." I said as I moved closer to her. She looked up and whimpered in fear. I bent down on my knees and put one hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

_'You have to perform a konso on her. Just put the base of your zanpakuto on her forehead and she'll go to the Soul Society'._ I did as he said and then suddenly a blue light seemed to emit from the girl. She was still looking at me, but then she smiled peacefully at me and disappeared in the glow of the light to go to the Soul Society. I stood up and put my zanpakuto on my back. Then I took off into the sky again, smiling to myself.

That was pretty much all that happened for the rest of the night. I went back home around two in the morning. I went to bed happy and exhausted from all the exploring that I'd done.

Shiva's POV

I was still in this cramped, dark, hell hole of oblivion. I could hardly move. It was black everywhere you looked. I was the only source of color anywhere and it wasn't much of a difference if you really thought about it. I was white all over and for as long as I could remember I had always worn this strange, baggy outfit. I think it was called a kimono or something like that.

I had been here my whole life. I would sometimes see some glimpses of the outside world though. And the fact was the more time passed, the more of the outside world I saw. Still though, I believed that I would stay in the dark abyss forever.

I felt a pulling sensation on my body. It felt like I was falling backwards, into the blackness. Then suddenly I was in a bright place that had way too much green in it. I blinked a few times and my eyes adjusted enough to see clearly.

I looked around and saw that I was in some kind of forest. I stood up and look around curiously. I lifted my head and I looked at the sky; it was covered in soft gray clouds. I walked around for a moment, simply curious of my new surroundings, and then I noticed a pressure on my back. I reached up for it and noticed that it was some sort of sword.

"Sweet". I noticed my own voice it sounded sort of high pitched and metallic. I kept walking with the sword tied to my back. I came to a clearing and saw a white boy lying on his back with his hands behind his head on the grass. I noticed his eyes as they looked up at the cloud covered sky.

He was a hollow like me, I could both smell and feel it. A pang rose in my chest and a sense of hunger registered in my mind. My eyes narrowed and I tensed my muscles.

'_Yay, something to eat'_. I felt the hunger clouding my mind as I prepared my attack. I crouched down and I grabbed the sword off my back, but as I prepared to spring though, a twig broke under my foot.

'_CRAP'_. I thought nervously. I slunk back down and the next thing I knew, the other hollow was standing behind me. I jumped out of the bush I was hiding in and landed in the clearing facing toward the other hollow. Now that my hiding spot was ruined, might as well show myself. I watched as he walked into the clearing after me.

"You must be Dominique's hollow. What is your name?" He asked as he circled me, as if he was interested in the way I looked. I kept my eyes on him the entire time, but I sweat dropped at his question. Why would a name matter?

"I don't really know who I am". Then a name popped in my head. "You can call me Shiva though". The name just sounded like it described me, it was my name.

"Well then, welcome aboard Shiva. My name's Shirozangetsu, but just Zangetsu will do". He said kindly. I smiled. All hunger forgotten. I straightened up and put the blade back where I'd gotten it from.

'_I think I'm gonna like this place'._

Me: Well that's chapter two and don't worry Karakura Town is our next stop so stay tuned. I got my first review, I can't believe it! I'm sooo happy. Ichigo and co. are coming soon so please review, and tell me how you liked or didn't like it.

Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND SHIROZANGETSU, HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	3. Karakura Town

Me: Yo! Chapter 3 is here. Sorry it took so long to update but I got grounded and I had to write it all by hand at first. We've got some of the other people here with us today too.

Shiva: Get ready because things are about to get interesting around here soon.

Shirozangetsu: Road trip!

Emma: Jessy, Claire, and Brandon enter in this chapter too, don't they?

Me: Yep plus as Zangetsu said, we're going to Japan in this chapter.

Ichigo: What's up? You all getting ready for the third chapter?

Shuan: Yah, bout to do the disclaimer too.

Rukia: Isn't this when you all come to Karakura isn't it?

Hichigo: Sup king. Sup midget.

Me: (Whacks Hichigo on his head a little too hard, therefore knocking him out) Be nice and stop calling Rukia a midget. Uh-oh...oops.

Zangetsu: I'll deal with Hichigo (drags an unconscious Hichigo over to my couch).

Me: Since Hichigo is knocked out, guess I whacked him on the head a little too hard, might as well get on with the story, because he will probably wake up during the chapter and he'll be pissed off and then he'll try to fight me. So as you all know I don't own anything whatsoever.

Ichigo: (Eying Hichigo with a smug smirk) Enjoy the story.

Me: Oh! Thank you Sam Leonheart for giving me my first reviews! I was squealing and bouncing in my seat when I read your reviews for chapters 1 and 2. Thanks for the spelling help and feel free to ask any questions you like. That goes for anyone else too. Read, review, state opinions and ask questions, because they give me creative inspiration. Oh, and tell me if any of you would like me to do other types of stories too since this is my first story it's also my serious one too. I'm sorry no, and I mean absolutely NO gay pairings! Now, on with the show!

**Chapter 3: Karakura Town**

**Four and a half years later...**

Ichigo's POV

_**It spins.**_

It had been a normal morning; dad came in, trying to attack me, and me beating him to the ground. Yuzu made breakfast like she always does. I left for school early, just like any other morning. I hung out with Keigo, and Mizurio, sighing to myself in humor at their antics.

_**The world changes.**_

_**It turns. Each time it touches the sun and the moon...**_

_**...it takes a new shape.**_

I watched the normal scenes of Chizuru trying to molest Orihime. As usual, Tasuki kicked her down. I stood up to head home after class.

All in all; a normal school day.

I began walking towards the light post where the little boy's ghost was waiting for me. I grabbed the airplane out of my bag to give to him.

_**One thing that does not change...**_

When I got there; I noticed that he was gone.

_**...is my powerlessness.**_

"So you showed up. I'm sorry, the boy's gone". I turned and saw the ghost of an old man floating behind me.

"Yeah". I gripped the toy plane in my right hand harder as I noticed the drops of blood on the ground and the faint smell of fear in the air.

_'This is how it always goes'._ I thought sadly to myself.

"I guess you brought that airplane for nothing". The old ghost said. I put on a calm face.

"That's okay. I just found it in my closet and...oh well". I said in a low voice. I never know what happens to the ghost. I do know one thing though; I can't protect them, and the realization cuts my heart like cold steel. I turned back to the old ghost.

"You can have it old man". I said.

"I don't want it. If you don't want it anymore though, you could just leave it here". He suggested. I soon left and found another young ghost. It was the little girl who died in a car crash last week.

_**It's turning.**_

_**If fate is a millstone...**_

"Okay, okay! I'll come back tomorrow". I promised the little girl ghost. She looked up at me; still crying.

"Thanks mister". She said with a sniffle. I smiled at her.

_**...then we are the grist.**_

"Alright, so don't cry okay"? I asked her. She nodded as she rubbed the last of the tears from her face.

_**There is nothing we can do.**_

She waved to me as I began walking home. A smile now on her face. I couldn't help but to smile myself. It was a sad smile, I hoped that she won't end up like the boy from before...and so many others before him.

_**So I wish for strength.**_

_**If I cannot protect them from the wheel...**_

I rounded the corner and saw Chad hanging out with his band.

_**...then give me a strong blade...**_

He gave me a thumbs up sign and I did one in return as I continued to walk home.

_**...and enough strength...**_

_**...to shatter fate.**_

Dominique's POV

**Same time: On the other side of the planet**

A little less than four and a half years have passed since that fateful night that I first got my powers, I'm fifteen, and now I am the section 13 leader of Squad 0; the Royal Guard to the Soul King and the Royal Family, also known as the Lost Squad.

I'm standing in the night sky above my home town looking for anything unusual. I was bored out of my mind and was contemplating whether or not to go check out and crash that teen party across town that was lighting up the neighborhood like a sore thumb, and not to mention, it messing with my sensitive ears. I had a certain liking for scaring the crap out of drunk teenagers, or should I say, anyone who's drunk.

I decided not to though. I had to get home and get some shut eye. I felt my friends' reiatsus scattered over the area without even really trying. They were each patrolling a different state, and I was the first one back tonight from my area. I had been patrolling North Carolina while Shuan was in Missouri, Emma in Ohio, and Jessy was flying over Virginia.

Tonight it was just Emma, Shuan, Jessy, and I out on patrol. I was alone in my mind tonight because Shirozangetsu and Shiva were taking care of my body and packing my stuff for me for the trip tomorrow. I had gotten to calling Shirozangetsu by his full name now. He didn't like the Shiro part very much though still. Hehe.

Tonight was the last night that I would be in America for a while. My friends and I were going to Japan for two months to study abroad; a trip founded by some benefactor, whom we don't know..., that and a lot of fundraising. We were going to a small (well small compared to the actual city of Tokyo) town, called Karakura town.

Jessy and Bree were going with us because they were a part of the culture club that we started two years ago and I wanted to keep them close in case of trouble because they were gifted like the rest of us. Jessy could shape shift like how Emma and Claire could change into huge wolves at will, except that Jessy could change into either a dark fairy or a tiger. Emma had chosen a wolf like our friend Claire and my cousin Brandon.

They were all a part of the shifter class of beings even though Emma was a shadow shinigami as well as a shifter. She was a rarity in Squad 0. Then again, so was I, what with my four hollification forms, and two hollows, as well as a zanpakuto who couldn't (or wouldn't **:I**) speak to me.

Emma was the alpha of the pack, and Claire was the beta. Jessy didn't have the automatic block that kept the others from changing into more than one shape. Bree's powers weren't active yet, which was normal for a half hollow like herself. She had a hollow inside of her, but she didn't know that, in fact no one but Rose and I knew that, though she wasn't a shadow shinigami. The others just thought that she was spiritually aware or something. Emma's and Shuan's hollows were fully awake and they were still in training in Squad 0.

Emma shunpoed up to me followed by Shuan in their shihakushos. We all had one thing in common with us in our outfits; we all had our zanpakuto strapped to our backs. Mine was the biggest and looked like a giant cleaver, my Zangetsu. Jessy flew up to us in her favorite form; a dark fairy with midnight black wings, like a hell butterfly's, and a long, black, woman's kimono that was really made up of weird feathers and not cloth.

Jessy was an odd girl, she kept to herself mostly. She didn't even want to be in Squad 0, but she hung out with us cause of our powers and there's always safety in numbers. she and Bree were the quiet ones of the group.

We all said our goodnights and we separated to head home. I transformed into my half hollow form and flew home, enjoying the feel of the night air against my wings.* I flapped my large wings leisurely and was home in no time. I quietly landed on the ground beside my window. My claws making no sound whatsoever on the soft soil. I carefully climbed up onto the windowsill that faced East in my room.

I changed back and quietly tapped on the window to my room. It was opened up quickly and I stepped inside. I saw my body sitting on my bed smirking up at me, and I saw Shirozangetsu sitting in my old plush chair watching a comedy on my TV. It looked to be Tosh.0...I think...I heard the sound of someone puking up their guts and that was a common thing shown on that show.

"Well at least Shiva's taking care of my body". I whispered quietly and rolled my eyes. Shirozangetsu heard that and smirked up at me. He reached over and grabbed something from the other side of the chair arm and threw it at me. It was my black duffle bag, which I caught in midair.

"You're welcome Ryu-chan". He said, using my childhood nickname from my Shadow Academy instructors. I rolled my eyes at him, and he stuck out his blue tongue out at me. That caused me to giggle at the sight, making him go back to his usual scowl instead as he turned back to the TV. I made a face behind his back that made me giggle to myself silently and had Shiva putting her hand over her mouth to keep in her laughter.

I opened up the black bag and everything seemed to be there; clothes, two pairs of shoes that weren't part of the stupid uniform that the others and I were forced to wear at the school we were enrolling in, and a couple other things as well like my books and lap top. I put it on the floor by my bed beside my suitcase with the rest of my clothes that I didn't really care about if they got lost in the airport's luggage thing..

I got back in my body, Shiva got out, and sat on my little couch by my chair (It was all hand-me-down stuff from the living room from our old house). I then turned to watched the TV with my two hollows. Laughing at various things that idiots did that got caught on camera.

I felt vibrations go through the wooden floor, telling that someone was heading this way through the house. My mom walked through my bedroom door. I was thankful, as always, that my mother couldn't see Shirozangetsu or Shiva.

After she sat down on my couch, right beside Shiva, unknowingly to her of course, she looked at me seriously while Shiva made funny faces at her. I sweat dropped at Shiva, but she only continued to mess around. My mom rambled on and on about what to and what not to do while in Japan while I did my best to keep a straight face. (Hard as hell to do so now that you mention it **XD**)

1) Don't go out after dark. (Not going to listen to that cause of my job so yah. **:P **)

2) Don't have sex. (Don't think she has to worry about that. I mean I'm not even looking for anybody right now, sheesh. **=.=** )

3) Don't spend too much money. (No shit besides it's my well damned earned pay check I'm spending anyway. **=o=** )

4) Listen to the teachers. (Uh...screw them. **XP** )

5) Don't get into any fights what-so-ever. (Uh...I think I already broke that rule since I was like ten. Not gonna stop now just because she says so. Besides Rose would make fun of me if I did actually listen to my parents for a change. That or going all pacifist...I was so not going to sit by while a good fight was going on. **XD** )

She then continued to talk about how she would miss me and how they would do when I wasn't here. All in all; a snore inducing conversation that made me want to gag from all the emotions and such.

_'I swear, humans are so emotional'._ I thought to myself with a mental smirk. She was my mother though, so it was expected for her to act this way.

After she left, I went and laid down on my bed with a loud sigh. I left my TV on and turned off my light so I could go to sleep. I heard a low buzzing sound and then I heard a whoosh of air. I lifted my hand and something smooth and hard landed in it; my cell phone.

"Thanks Shiva". I said as I lifted it up to my ear, "Hello?"

"Dominique? It's Emma. Do you know who the other two kids that are coming with us on the trip?" Emma said on the other end of the line. I could practically feel the girl bouncing through the cell phone.

"No. Who"? She answered excitedly.

"Claire and Brandon!" I sat up in surprise.

"Alright! Sweet, the whole pack's gonna be there"! I hadn't been sure if their parents would allow them to come even though they had the school's permission.

"Yah! I can't wait for tomorrow. Night"!

"Night Emma". The line went dead and everything was a go for tomorrow. During the call Shirozangetsu and Shiva had reentered my mind to eavesdrop like the nosy hollows they were. I laid back down on my bed and quickly went to sleep listening to Shirozangetsu and Shiva sparring in my inner world.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I stood with my family in the airport terminal. It was really hot so I was wearing a tank top and shorts along with a pair of white flip flops. It was early May and the air was already heavy with the heat. I got on the plane with my friends and my two teachers; Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We all waved goodbye and then we got on the plane. I saw my family waving to me as we flew away.

I leaned back into the seat and grabbed my MP3. I began to listen to my Linkin Park playlist to pass the time. It took forever to get to Japan, I'd even fallen asleep on the plane it was so long. I was fairly disappointed as this was my first plane ride. I preferred to fly with my own wings personally.

When we got to the Karakura airport we went directly to the house that we'd be renting for the two months. When we got to the house we had to share rooms with each other. We kids were in the second story and the teachers had a room on the ground floor. I shared one with Emma. Jessy shared with Bree, and Claire had one to herself, and Brandon and Shuan shared one.

It was night time when we got finished unpacking. We would be allowed to explore the city tomorrow and then we would go to school the next day. I plopped down onto my bed and went to sleep after I finished my unpacking.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I woke up early in the morning and walked down the stairs in a pair of loose jeans, a tank top and a pair of flip flops. I went to the cabinet and I grabbed a granola bar before the others got up. I left a note saying that I had left early. I grabbed my purse with my ID and money and left the house.

I went all over the town, exploring, and just enjoying myself and the peace and quiet. Near twilight, I was back in the neighborhood where we were staying. I heard a dull thud: the sound of a body hitting the pavement. I turned the corner and I saw an orange haired boy standing by a pole that had a young female whole standing by it. There was one boy on the ground; there were two other boys on skateboards with one more on the ground further back. I noticed that by the pole there was a vase with flowers that was tipped over.

He then knocked another one out and then they ran away after he said something about apologizing to the whole. He started talking to the girl's soul and he told her that he would bring some more flowers tomorrow. He faced towards me and I stood there in shock as I got a look at his face.

He looked exactly like Shirozangetsu; well he had normal skin instead of white skin, bright orange hair and chocolate brown eyes. He had a scowl on his face as he walked passed me. My heart throbbed strangely when I looked directly at his eyes, which had moved to look at mine. His eyes held confusion in them as I quickly passed him.

I hurried back to the house with my thoughts a jumbled mess.

_'Okay WTF just happened'?_ I was normally the cool headed and quiet type person...so why in the hell was I blushing as if I'd just been pranked by Emma and Shaun?! I so didn't understand.

When I got back to the house I found Claire, Brandon, and Jessy were on the steps. Emma and Shuan rounded the corner and walked up to us at the same time. That's when I smelled the scent of blood in the air. I looked down and saw that Claire and Brandon had injuries.

All thoughts of that boy left my mind. Claire had a cut on her right cheek and Brandon's left leg had blood on it, and the pants legs were ripped. I also noticed that Claire was wearing one of her emergency outfits. The ones she used when she had to change and couldn't get her outfit off in time before she shifted forms.

"Claire what happened? Where's Bree"? I said as I noticed the missing presence of a certain light brunette haired, shy girl who wore glasses.

"I'll tell you when we get inside". She sounded out of breath. We got them inside and I was glad that the teachers were out. We got up to my room and they sat down on the floor. I left my body and used a low level healing kido to heal the cut on Claire's face, now the wound on Brandon was worse than I thought though and had to use a healing shadow for his leg. I healed it as well with not so much as a scar left in its place.

Emma would have healed it, but she was downstairs cleaning up the spilled blood with Shuan. Don't need the teachers to see that. I could tell by the energy on them that they were attacked by a powerful hollow, but I wanted the full story so I made Claire tell us what happened when Emma and Shuan got back in the room. What had disturbed me was that I hadn't sensed it, and usually I was the first one to sense a hollow's presence.

This was a bad sign.

Claire's POV

_Flashback:_

We were walking through a park. We decided to explore it on the trip back to the house after we hit the mall and the city. We were about halfway through when I felt a huge dark energy rise. Thank goodness that I was a part of Emma's pack and that she was a shadow shinigami too.

It was definitely a hollow's reiatsu. We got into a formation: Brandon and I in the front and Jessy in the back with Bree in the middle (I didn't know what sort of powers she had or if she had any powers at all. But if Dominique wanted her around that must mean that she's something).

The air around us shimmered and then a garganta opened up in the middle of the clearing. A huge and ugly (and I do mean really ugly!) hollow came out of the garganta. It looked like a huge ugly sloth. It ran and attacked me first, it tried to grab me, but I changed into my wolf form just in time to dodge the blow that would have sliced off my whole head, not completely unscathed though.

Its claw raked down my muzzle though and blood gushed out of my face. Brandon roared in fury, which caught the attention of the hollow. It moved faster than what I would have ever expected and it was able to grab Brandon's leg and its claws dug into his leg. The hollow tossed him into a tree about twenty feet away.

Jessy changed into her dark fairy form and she flew up to the hollow and she landed a vicious kick to its mouth, her kimono flailing wildly. It ran off to the side and it went after Bree. We were all too far away for any of us to help.

Then suddenly the hollow stopped, it looked like it was frozen. Bree had her hands up and a green light was glowing from them. Her face was so shocked it was almost funny. She looked like she was struggling, the light began to fade from her hands, and the hollow twitched. It jumped at her and then there was a huge flash of green light and the next thing I knew, she was gone.

_End Flashback:_

Dominique's POV

I sat there in shock for a minute.

"Crap! I'm going to look for her. Everyone stay here and act normal. If the teachers ask tell them that she went to the mall. Make sure that Shiva behaves with my body, or else". They all nodded as I opened the window and shunpoed into the night sky.

I flew to the park and landed in the clearing that the hollow's reiatsu was at. I closed my eyes and opened my senses to the energy around me. I felt around for the energy and I noticed that Bree's own reiatsu was mixed in with her dormant hollow. Well I guess it had to awaken sometime, but why in the world today!?

I closed my eyes in concentration to see if I could find Bree. After a few seconds I opened my eyes and I growled in frustration. I couldn't find a single trace of her spirit energy to track her from. All I could detect was residual crap. I changed into my full hollow form* and I flew up into the air to head home, my streamline body flitting easily through the cool night air as I used sonido as well.

I got home quickly and I changed back to normal. I jumped back inside the open window and I sat on the bed while in deep thought. They must be having dinner, cause I heard the sounds of tableware and plates clanking. I lay down on my bed and soon fell asleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I woke up to a sunny morning. I noticed that I was in my body again. What did I do last night that I had been out of my body? I couldn't remember what I did last night. Why did I feel sad? Weird.

I went to my closet and got dressed in my new school uniform (I wasn't all too happy with this because at my old school we could practically wear what we wanted). I walked down the stairs to go eat something. I noticed all my friends sitting together with confused looks on their faces. We all got up and we walked to school together, the confusion leaving as excitement for starting at a new school replaced it.

We went to the main office to receive our schedules. I was ticked off because I didn't have even a single class with any of my friends. All the others shared their classes, but I was the only one since I was the youngest in the group. Which still confused me because even though I was the leader, I was the youngest. Anyway, we all went to our different classes and I entered my classroom calmly. The first thing I noticed was that that same orange haired boy from yesterday was sitting by the window.

_'Great. I hope this isn't going to be some annoying ass pattern, where he just so happens to show up everywhere I go. I am not about to let some boy get in the way of my studies and job/vacation time'._ I thought dismally to myself. I then looked at the teacher. She stood up and spoke in badly accented English.

"Hello. You must be Dominique Kudo. You can go sit by Ichigo Kurosaki over there by the window". She pointed to the orange haired boy newly dubbed as Ichigo who was looking at me curiously.

_'Figures'._ I had a feeling I would have to sit by him and I was right. I smiled sweetly and spoke in perfectly articulated Japanese.

"You don't have to speak English for me. You and the others can speak normally so that you all are not uncomfortable". I went over and sat down in the desk beside him, leaving the teacher open mouthed in shock. I knew that the others were probably having the same fun as I was.

The day took forever to get done. I was worrying about the flowers in my backpack. I would put the flowers by the pole she'd been at and then perform a konso on her afterwards. When school finally ended, I let my friends walk home ahead of me.

I went to go see the young whole. She looked shocked that I could see her at first. I put the flowers in the vase and I talked to her for a little while. She told me that she'd heard monsters roaring during the night after she died.

So this town had a hollow infestation. I decided to go home and tell the others about this before I konsoed her. She might be able to tell me where most of the hollows were showing up at so my team could deal with them more easily. I went to leave and she disappeared. Then I noticed Ichigo walking around the corner and when he saw me, his face turned into one of shock. He quickly put back on his seemingly permanent scowl on his face as he walked up to me.

"You're the new girl, Dominique right? Did you bring those flowers there"? He asked as he stood over me. He was tall and lanky, just like Shirozangetsu, and almost a half head taller than me, making me have to look up to him.

"Yah. Can you see her too"? I asked slyly. He nodded and then I heard a huge crash. Both Ichigo and I ran towards the sound. Then that's when I felt the hollow's reiatsu. My eyes went wide. It was a weak hollow, explaining why I hadn't sensed it at first, but it was the kind that could easily kill normal people. Speaking of people, they were all running away from the hollow without really knowing what they were running from. They were screaming things like; terrorist, bombs, and earthquakes.

_'Ignorant humans'._ Shirozangetsu commented. It was very unusual that a weak level hollow like that would appear in such a crowded area though, and in the middle of the day no less. The hollow landed in front of us, it looked like a giant ugly praying mantis. The little girl's soul was running away from the hollow.

_'I swear. It's always a chase with hollows and wholes. It never fails'._ I thought to myself. Ichigo (his stupid self) ran towards it to try to save the girl.

I prepared to jump out of my body, but before I could do anything, a short girl jumped from the sky, she had a black shihakusho on so it was obvious that she was a soul reaper and she was using shunpo. She jumped up and she slashed the hollow's face in half with her zanpakuto. She quickly sheathed it and she started to walk away.

_'Wow...midget soul reaper girl showed off'._ I thought to myself with an inward smirk. Ichigo ran up towards her and he tried to get her attention. She ignored him though; she probably thought that he couldn't see her. She jumped up into the air and she shunpoed away. Ichigo walked up to me.

"Did you just see that"? I nodded at him. I turned and walked home without another word, leaving him to think what he would. I had a duty to make sure that normal soul reapers didn't find out about Squad 0. I was making plans to find that soul reaper tonight. I'd give her a cover story, so she wouldn't be suspicious as my team worked here with the hollow infestation.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I was jumping from building to building leisurely. I was trying to get a lock on that soul reaper's reiatsu, but I wasn't in any rush; I had all night. I didn't even ask for Emma and the others help with finding the girl.

I had my senses open and felt the presence of yet another hollow appear. Talk about a friggen hollow infestation. That's the third one in three days, usually it takes about two weeks for three hollows to show up back at home. Something was seriously off about this place. I shunpoed to the source of the energy quickly. I saw the hollow in the street, wounded, but still very much able to attack. That's not what grabbed my attention though.

I saw Ichigo standing over that soul reaper girl from this afternoon, who was covered in blood. She had her zanpakuto pointed to his chest. I looked down the street and saw that the hollow was charging at them. I went to shunpo to intervene, but then I realized what they were doing.

Something dangerous, stupid, and against the laws of the Soul Society.

She was going to give him her soul reaper powers.

He grabbed her zanpakuto in his hands, then he stabbed himself in the chest with it. There was a huge flash of light that filled the area, making all three of them disappear into the white light. When it cleared, I saw Ichigo standing there with a large zanpakuto, and a large sheath strapped to his back. I heard a crash as the hollow's newly severed arm landed on the ground behind Ichigo.

I jumped and landed beside him. He stared at me with a shocked look. I rolled my eyes at him, only a newbie would take his eyes off of his enemy when he was in the middle of a battle and he was as new as they came.

"Don't just stand there, take care of that hollow". I motioned to the roaring hollow with a curt nod of my head. It was low level so he should be able to kill it. He nodded before he rushed at the hollow, and cut off one of its feet.

"This is for attacking my family! You fished faced freak"! He roared out and then in a single downward stroke he cut the hollows mask in half. I then noticed the soul reaper, and walked up to her.

"Hi. What's your name? Mine's Dominique Kudo". I said with a tone of respect. I knew what she just did. Giving him her powers was super illegal in the Soul Society. It was considered a capital offense. I had a sense of respect for this soul reaper now. She put her life on the line to help him protect his family.

"Rukia Kuchiki. Are you from the Soul Society"? She asked me warily. She thought I would turn her in. Fat chance of that happening.

"Nope. I'm from America". I wasn't about to give her any details, she was a soul reaper after all. She may have my respect for helping out a human so he could save his family with a stupid stunt like what she just did, but she was a soul reaper none the less.

_'She probably doesn't even know about shadow shinigami in the first place'._ Shirozangetsu said with a mental shrug as Ichigo walked up to us, and I placed my hand on his shoulder. I smiled a friendly smile at him.

"Welcome to the party Ichigo, guess you're a soul reaper now. Huh"? I finished as he fell forward, passed out from using his reiatsu for the first time. I caught him easily by the back of his shihakusho.

I sighed when I hefted him up on my back. I walked over to where his body was and put him back in it. I then healed the small wounds on him. I began to heal the wounds of an older man who must be Ichigo's father, and two young girls who were his sisters. I wondered though...where was his mom? I put that thought away for later though.

The girls had minor injuries, but I had to use a healing shadow for the man's back. After I healed them I placed them all in their rooms, at least what I thought were there rooms. I wasn't a hundred percent sure, but it was a good guess. Not to mention, I wiped their memories of what happened tonight with a kage kido.

There was nothing I could do for the giant hole in the wall though. It was just a normal routine cleanup job. After that, I looked for the soul reaper, Rukia, who had given her powers to Ichigo. She was gone though. I sighed and shunpoed back home to tell the others. It looks like I'd have to have more contact with Ichigo now that he's a new soul reaper. He would need to learn how to fight and to use his powers until they went back to that Rukia girl.

As I got home I sighed to myself. I came here to Japan to relax and to study abroad for some early college credits as well as gaining some credentials for my school back at home. Looks like I brought work with me though...again.

_'What a way to start things off in Japan. I swear. I'm such a problem magnet'. _

Me: Well… Shiva and Hichigo are fighting (sigh). I had to kick them out my house so they wouldn't destroy it. Once again sorry for the late update. Thanks to anyone else who has given me reviews.

Ichigo: Come on Dominique your missing the fight, It's getting good. (Smirks)

Me: Coming Ichigo! Remember, read, review, ask questions, and give opinions. See ya!

*I can transform into a hollow like creature (Tail, claws, my mask of course, blade like horns on my forearms, and wings on my back. My full hollow form looks like a dragon). I have three forms in all. Half hollow, full hollow, and finally, my vasto lorde form. Details will be given later!

Spotlight by Mute Math

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND SHIROZANGETSU, HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	4. Substitute Soul Reaper

Me: Today the others are off playing around and getting some R&R. I'm doing the disclaimer alone today. Summer's almost here and I'm ready to go to the beach! Remember please tell me your opinions and ask questions and don't forget to review. I'm writing all my chapters by hand so I can keep up with the episodes on TV. I now own all the Bleach games except Bleach: The Forth Flame. I absolutely love The 3rd Phantom, it's totally my kind of game and I know the secret to beating Ulquiora and Yammy in Karakura town! That level took me days to figure out. Thank you again Sam Leonhart for yet another helpful review. Your profile is totally awesome. I absolutely love randomness. You'll find that out later on in the story as I get more acquainted in Karakura Town. I know my typing stinks so to everyone so sorry for spelling errors, and to Sam Leonhart; that is so freaking cool that your hollow form would be a huge dragon too. Hopefully I will get a picture on here somehow but I need someone who can draw really well. So if anyone can draw please tell me so I can give you a description. Now that you've all been good and listened to all of my blathering (yay for all of you, you all survived!) Let's get on with the program. I own nothing annnd**…**action!

**Chapter 4: Substitute Soul Reaper**

Dominique's POV

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! SLAP!

"Stupid alarm clock". I sat up in my new bed and stretched. I thought about what was going to happened today and I giggled. This was going to be very strange, and sure to be entertaining as well. I would see Ichigo in class, and then my stomach felt like it was full of butterflies.

_'Okay so not normal'._ Maybe I was just hungry...yeah, that was it. I'd already told Emma and the others about what happened last night. They all were curious about Ichigo and Rukia. They wanted to see these two for themselves.

Finally when I got to class, I sat down and stared at the ceiling; waiting for class to start. Ichigo walked in and he looked at me. He seemed curious, or at least that's what his eyes looked like; simply curious. He sat down beside me and then Miss Ochi walked in. Then five minutes later I saw a short raven-haired girl walk through the door.

_'Why am I not surprised'?_ I thought sarcastically to myself. Rukia walked in with an innocent look on her face that I immediately didn't trust.

She introduced herself to the class, and then she walked to the seat beside me. Since class hadn't officially started yet, she was surrounded by other kids. Ichigo stood right in front of her; this wasn't going to be pleasant that's for sure. She put her hand out as if to shake hands and then she flipped it over and I saw a note on it.

'_Make a scene and you're so dead'! _

I coughed to try to hide my laugh, didn't fool Ichigo though. He looked at me and he narrowed his eyes. I laughed aloud this time.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

During lunch I went up to the roof to relax. The others most likely went off campus to eat. The morning had been tense with Ichigo giving evil glares to Rukia and me, but it was so damn funny at the same time. I leaned over one of the rails to look out over the school as the wind played with my hair. I heard loud voices so I looked down to the ground.

I saw Ichigo and Rukia standing in one of the courtyards, and by the way they were standing, they were arguing. Rukia pulled something out of her pocket and she put it on her hand. It was a red, fingerless glove, with a blue skull on it.

I smirked, I knew what that thing was. She jumped up and she rammed the palm of her hand under his jaw. His soul came right out with ease.

_'Hmmm, seems the soul reapers have made a more efficient model now'._ Shiva commented.

I giggled to myself as I watched the scene below me. Rukia then prompted to drag him off to the east and off campus. He was struggling to try to right himself. I laughed aloud, leaning over the railing, and both Ichigo and Rukia looked up at me. That just made me laugh even harder.

_'Soul reapers can be so freaking funny sometimes'._ I mentally howled in laughter.

After they were out of sight, and I regained control over myself, I jumped out of my body. I jumped from the roof top to retrieve Ichigo's body from the ground. Rukia should know better than to leave his body just lying around.

That was one of the first things that was taught to us at the academy, plus it was just common sense. I hefted his body over my shoulder and jumped back up to the roof.

I sat him down against the side wall and re-entered my own body. I opened my eyes and searched for Ichigo and Rukia. I felt Ichigo's reiatsu with ease, but just barely registered Rukia's dim energy signature.

I noticed that I could track his reiatsu already, cause it took me at least a few days to get used to someone's particular energy. His was seemingly easy to track though. I didn't know why but I think it's because he has a higher than normal reiatsu. Soon both Rukia and Ichigo returned and I called them up to the roof.

They joined me within a few seconds, and Ichigo got back into his body. As I went to go back to class, Rukia stopped me.

"Dominique, since you don't come from the Soul Society, I want to know how you became a soul reaper". I sighed and turned around. I couldn't tell them everything, but I could tell them a little of my story. This would be fun.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I left out the majority of my powers; bankai, hollification, and of course Shirozangetsu, Shiva, and squad 0. I simply told them that I had been a human who had dormant powers that were awakened when a hollow crossed my path when I was younger. It wasn't a lie actually. Shirozangetsu was the hollow and he did tell me that I had dormant powers before I met him so technically I didn't lie.

It was better that they don't know the full truth unless they have to or that they were ready. That and I didn't like outsiders knowing about squad 0. We already had enough of a rep among soul reapers. Thank goodness that most of them didn't know that the royal guard was mostly made up of human kids who had acquired soul reaper and hollow powers at an early age.

_'We already hear enough bad talk from that dumb ass Old Man Yama Rose talks about'._ Shirozangetsu commented. I agreed with him completely.

After we went back to class and when school ended, I let Emma and the others head on home without me again. Emma gave me a questioning look and I smirked. She shrugged and went with the others. Rukia, Ichigo, and I were walking in the direction of the neighborhood that we lived in. I didn't know where Rukia was staying, but then again it didn't really matter to me.

I saw a girl lying in the street with a car zooming off in the distance. Ichigo ran up to her and helped her up. I noticed her as being one of the other students in my class.

"Orihime, are you alright"! She started to get up and her eyes went wide at the sight of Ichigo. I noticed that there were groceries were strewn about her. I picked up the stuff and was confused about all the things that she had. There were leeks, butter, bananas, and some sort of bean jam.

_'What in the world is this girl going to make with all this weird stuff'?_ I noticed a large bruise around her leg, and the dark energy of a hollow swirling around the bruise. I noticed that Rukia was looking at it too with a concerned look to her face. Ichigo then saw it.

" Orihime, how did you get that bruise"? She deadpanned and then she looked down.

"Oh! That must have happened when that car almost hit me". She looked down in surprise.

"Do you want me to walk you home Orihime"? Ichigo asked like a gentleman. She blushed heavily and started rambling.

"Oh! No, no thank you, it's not that far a walk, Haha". She said as she began walking down the street.

"Okay! See ya tomorrow then"! he called back to her.

"Kay! See you tomorrow"! She called back with a deep blush on her face. She gathered up her things and she walked across the street and she headed home. I could see her shoulders slump, as if in dissappointment.

_'She likes him'._ Shiva commented. I giggled. From the look of things, he didn't even notice that she liked him, even though it was obvious as all get out. Either he was dense as hell or wasn't interested in her. Rukia then looked at us.

"Did you both see that? That was no ordinary bruise". She said with her fingers resting on her chin in thought. I nodded. She had to have had a hollow grab her leg. For what reason though; well, there were too many possibilities to be sure.

"It had to have been a hollow. At least that's what I sensed". I said as I looked away. Ichigo told me about Orihime and he told me that her brother named Sora had died three years ago. I felt so sad for her and I felt like I should do something nice for her. Not to mention the fact that her brother might have been the hollow that gave her that bruise. I hoped I was wrong though.

I felt really handicapped right now because I couldn't use all of my abilities without raising questions. That meant that Shirozangetsu and Shiva couldn't come out and help me patrol the area. Maybe it would just be better if I told them. Sigh. I really wanted to keep an eye on her, plus I wanted to be able to contact my friends at a moment's notice. I decided that I would tell them sometime soon...just not now though. They weren't ready yet to know the real me.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Later on that night, I was sitting on my bed reading the new book that Jessy bought me. She had gotten me a new book that I was engrossed in. I also had a new bracelet from Claire. I was still wearing the necklace that my grandmother gave to me before she died; it was a black stone pendant. I noticed something strange and stood up. Emma did the same thing. I looked at her seriously.

"Get the others. We're going, now". She nodded. I jumped out of my body and Emma ran out the bedroom door. I flew off into the sky at the fastest pace possible. I followed the reiatsu to Ichigo's house. I jumped down to the window and I opened it just in time to see a hollow slither through a garganta.

I saw Ichigo standing in his room with Rukia standing beside his bed in front of me. Ichigo looked like he had just witnessed something horrible. I jumped through the window and let myself in.

"What happened"? I asked seriously. I saw the damage to the bed and the floor. They looked at me in shock for a moment, but soon they got serious again. Ichigo told me that a hollow entered his room and he found out that it was Orihime's dead brother; Sora. Shock flew across my face; I had really been hoping that it wouldn't have been him.

Then came the cluelessness as I saw Rukia in pajamas.

"Umm...why is Rukia here..., and in pajamas"? (I know I'm random)

"She is apparently living in my closet. At least that's where I found her a few minutes ago". He looked so embarrassed it was funny. Then I felt that same hollow's reiatsu spike. This was no time to crack jokes unfortunately.

"Well? Come on we have to go after that hollow". Ichigo looked indecisive. It was obvious he didn't know that when a soul reaper kills a hollow they purify it, not actually kill it. I'd tell him later, when there was actually time to tell. I sighed and jumped out the window.

After a few seconds I looked behind me and saw Ichigo with Rukia on his back, jumping from roof to roof (He obviously didn't know how to do shunpo very well yet, if at all).

They would catch up so I put the pedal to the metal and zoomed to the source of the energy. I jumped through the window and saw Orihime lying on the ground in two places, as well as another one of my classmates, Tatsuki against the wall with a bloody shoulder.

I noticed that Orihime's chain of fate was at least still connected to her body so she was still alive at least. I let out a sigh of relief at that.

The hollow was slithering towards her, I grabbed my zanpakuto and blocked him with my blade held in my right hand and keeping Orihime back with the other. Ichigo came in a second later. Rukia must've been outside, cause she wasn't with him.

The both of us were fighting the hollow. I was mostly covering for Ichigo; he did most of the attacking. Eventually, I got impatient and kicked the hollow, he went through the wall outside (I was just a little too destructive...well I had taken out of half of the wall of the building so maybe little is the wrong word).

Emma and the others had caught up and surrounded the hollow.

"Don't attack. Surround it and don't let it escape". I ordered. They backed up and surrounded it. Emma and Shuan had their blades at the ready, Claire and Brandon were in their wolf forms and Jessy was in her tiger form.

Ichigo charged forward and tried to attack the hollow alone. The others didn't try to stop him since they were following my orders. His zanpakuto ended up being knocked out of his hands. Just as the hollow went to attack Ichigo, Orihime jumped in front of him and she took the hit for him.

She hugged his face and then somehow Sora took back over and then he and Orihime and a few words of farewell and then he grabbed Ichigo's zanpakuto and he stabbed himself after Rukia explained to Ichigo about the whole purification thing with hollows. Sora smiled sweetly at Orihime and he disappeared.

Rukia healed Ichigo, I healed Tatsuki, and Emma healed Orihime. After that, Emma and the rest of my gang left ahead of me. Just before we left; Rukia used something on Orihime and Tatsuki. She told me that it was a Koikuchikan; a memory changer. It was like Emma's memory kido; Shokyoki; mind erase.

Tomorrow we would see what the memories they would come up with, because it depended on the person's imagination to what the new memory would be. It was sure to be a funny memory for sure.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

We found out the next day and trust and believe me that girl Orihime had one heck of an imagination. She was going on about it all day long; about how a yakuza gunman broke into her house and destroyed her wall. That is, until lunch, that's when Emma and I went to the roof to eat lunch. Turns out that Ichigo and Rukia were here too.

I leaned against the railing and I opened my soda while Emma sat down and started eating her bento. Rukia was having problems opening her juice box. I took it from her and put the straw through the hole, then I gave it back to her. She took a sip and she smiled.

Two more students; Mizurio and Keigo came up and joined us too. They started pestering Ichigo about him being surrounded by girls. Then Keigo stared flirting with Rukia, but she wasn't paying him much attention. This guy with blond hair and multiple piercings appeared up on the roof with another wimpier looking kid. He started talking shit to Ichigo and then he looked at me. He began flirting with me and I stood up. I saw the pair of brass knuckles on his hands. I grinned evilly.

"You really think that you can handle me"? The boy laughed and went to put his hand on my shoulder. I caught his arm in my hand and pulled him to my level. I then kicked him in between his legs and he screamed in a high pitched voice.

"Damn it, you bitch". He gritted out. A tic mark appeared on my forehead.

"You wanna call me a bitch"? I twisted around and shot my left leg out at him. I kicked him in the gut, hard, he went flying across the roof and landed on his friend. I pointed at the both of them and said, "Unless you want the same treatment he got, I suggest that you get the hell away from us, got that"? He nodded scared and ran with the idiot across his shoulders down the stairs. The others looked at me like I was crazy, except for Emma who was still eating her bento.

"Nice job Dominique. I think ya over killed it though". She said after she took a sip of her soda. I laughed.

That was when someone else came up on the roof. It was a large man who looked Mexican in origin. The strange thing was though that he was covered in bandages, and that he was carrying a bird in a cage. Ichigo looked at him in shock.

"What happened to you Chad"? He answered in a quiet, but deep voice.

"A steel beam fell on my head yesterday and a motorcycle crashed into me this morning. The driver got banged up pretty bad, so I helped him to the hospital". Everyone stood still in shock, even Emma stopped eating (Trust and believe me, you get in between Emma and food, you're as good as dead). He put the bird down and he sat down with us. The bird looked at me and it spoke like a person. It told me it's name and it asked me what my name was.

I saw Rukia out of the corner of my eye, staring at it like something was strange about it. I noticed it too; that bird was no normal bird. Then Mizurio cut off my thinking and he told us about the curse of that bird. Turns out, anyone who owns that bird has a horrible accident and dies.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Take it out now, Ichigo"! Ichigo rushed at the serial rapist/murderer turned hollow and he cut it in half. I stood still and waited for what I knew what was coming next. This would be another lesson to Ichigo. The hollow rematerialized, but stayed frozen in place and a huge door rose from the ground. Ichigo looked scared and he took a step back.

"What in the world is that"?

"The gates to Hell. Don't worry though; it has only come for him. The bastard will finally get what he deserves". I heard a triumphant howl somewhere close by. Emma and the others must have kept Chad safe from the decoy hollows bombs. The chains that were around the gate came off, grabbing the hollow, and the doors opened. A sword appeared, piercing the hollow, and then dragged it in. A deep laugh filled the air as the gate disappeared in a crumbling fashion.

Emma and the others walked up to us with un-shocked faces. I preformed a konso on the boy who was trapped in the bird. Just before he left, Rukia told him that he would see his mother again in the Soul Society soon. I smiled at Ichigo encouragingly and walked back home with my friends.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Two days later I was sitting in class, bored as could be. Ichigo and Rukia hadn't showed up for school today. When lunch was over I was sitting on Ichigo's usual desk by the window to pass the time. Then I saw Ichigo jump up on the windowsill. He had a huge smile on his face. Something was not right at all, this wasn't Ichigo cause the reiatstu was different from his, not to mention he was smiling without his normal scowl.

I didn't have time to really think it through when he jumped into the classroom and he grabbed my hand and he pulled me to him and he kissed my cheek. My face turned twenty shades of red in an instant. He released my hand and then he went after the other girls. He kissed Orihime on the cheek and Tatsuki flipped out.

She had a desk held over her head when the real Ichigo came through the window. Pretty much Ichigo's body was fighting him. To the others it probably looked like he was crazy. To them it would have looked like he was kicking nothing but air. I ran at Ichigo's body and kicked it out of the window.

Ichigo looked at me in complete shock, I shrugged my shoulders. Whatever the damage was, I could heal it.

It landed on the ground as if it was nothing, and then it started running.

_'Must be a mod soul'._ I saw Rukia by the door and she threw something at me…it was her memory changer thing. I ran to the door just before using it on the people in the class.

I ran to the roof and I jumped out of my body to help Ichigo. I noticed that there was a hollow's presence in the area so Ichigo would be dealing with that, so I went after his runaway body. This whole mess had Rukia's name all over it. Another hollow was attacking Ichigo's body. I jumped in and slashed the mask in half. Then whoever was in Ichigo's body did a back flip and kicked the hollow just before it disappeared.

Then he was falling, (did I mention we were on a roof … no…oh well) Ichigo thankfully caught him and dropped him on the roof. Rukia told me that the thing that was inside of Ichigo's body was a mod soul, confirming what I already knew. Then the mod soul told us about how he was created and then immediately sentenced to die.

_'That's the Soul Society for you'._ Shiva commented.

_'A bunch of stuck up assholes'._ Shirozangetsu agreed.

Then suddenly, a cane with a blue skull on it went through Ichigo's head and the little green pill landed on the ground, the mod soul. The mod soul landed on the ground. I saw a man bend down to pick it up. He was wearing a green and white stripped hat and a green coat with wooden clogs.

There was a large heavily built man behind him with two kids, one a raven-haired girl, and a red headed boy. They went to leave, but Rukia went up to him and grabbed the mod soul from him, saying that she paid for it and that she was happy with her purchase. They argued for a few moments, but in the end Rukia won the fight. He looked at her questioningly, but he didn't say anything else. He and the rest of them left.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"I'm gonna kick your butt, do you hear me?" I was walking beside Ichigo trying not to laugh. Shirozangetsu and Shiva did not succeed though; they were cracking up in the back of my head. Rukia told Ichigo that it looked extremely weird for him to be yelling at a pill. He winced every now and again cause during the mod soul's joy ride, he banged up Ichigo's body pretty badly.

Apparently, he wanted a way to talk to the mod soul. First, I healed his shoulder, then I looked around, and I saw a stuffed animal lying on a bag of trash.

_'Perfect'._ I thought coyly.

I picked up the stuffed toy lion and I grabbed the pill from Ichigo. I stuffed the pill into the plushie's mouth and we waited. At first it didn't move and then Ichigo got impatient.

Ichigo grabbed it from me and then started shaking the toy. The toy moved and it jumped from Ichigo's hands and it landed on the ground saying that it wanted to challenge Ichigo to a battle. Then it realized it was small and plush. I couldn't help but smirk. That's when Ichigo grinned evilly and then started stomping it into the ground. After Ichigo cooled off, we all went home.

Me: Chapter four is finally done. I'm writing chapter five now so stay tuned. I will update ASAP! I'm behind on the Bleach episodes so I'm writing new stuff every week. Sorry to everyone about not putting up the little bit in between meeting Chad and the fight with the evil hollow, but it was just too boring to me to even bother writing. Please review and ask questions about my story cause it lets me know that people are actually reading it. Please give me some ideas for pairing, but no gay pairings! Hope everyone likes this chapter too. Thank you all who review.

Walk Alone by Green Day

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND SHIROZANGETSU, HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	5. Grand Fisher and the Last Quincy

Me: Yay! Thank you all my beloved reviewers (hugs reviewers). And thank you all who read my story. I know it took forever to write but I had major writers block. I plan to write many more stories after I finish this one...or maybe I'll just write them on the side of this one. Answers to reviewer questions will be at the end of this chapter. Truth or Dare: Bleach Style is now up for everyone to see. This is my first funny one so be nice and send humiliating truth or dares in your reviews. My DS broke, but now I have a new one...It's BLUE! And I-

Hichigo: Shut up already. You talk too much.

Shirozangetsu: Yah, look who's talking.

Ichigo: All of you shut up! I'm getting a headache over here.

Shiva: Oh whaaa! You big baby.

Zangetsu: You all act like a bunch of children.

Me: Anyhow, My cousin Tamera is guest starring in the introduction today. So everyone be nice to her or I'll kick all of yall's asses. (I'm country)

Tamera: Who the hell are these people! They look weird.

Hichigo: Who you calling weird kid, you ain't got no eye brows for pities sake? (Yes, she shaved her eyebrows)

Tamera: Who the hell do you think you're talking to albino boy?

Shiva: I'm gonna kick your ass!

Tamera: Bring it bitch!

Me: Be nice Tamera.

Zangetsu: Everyone else, read the story and enjoy. She owns nothing but her three stories on this site.

Me: (Tries to break up brawl between hollows, Ichigo, and younger cousin. Ends up fighting right along with them.)

**Chapter 5: Grand Fisher and the Last Quincy**

Dominique's POV

June 16th

I sighed and walked to Ichigo's house, with Emma and Shuan following behind me. Claire, Brandon, and Jessy went to go get a quick breakfast from Wacdonalds(McDonalds for those who don't know). They would bring ours to school. After they stopped by the arcade of course to play a couple rounds of Tekken.

We were gonna ask if Ichigo and Rukia wanted to walk with us to school today. When we got there, Mizurio and Keigo were waiting outside of Ichigo's house. Ichigo leaned out the window saying that he would be out here in a minute. My eyes shot wide open because, one, he was smiling, and two (This was the big one), he was shirtless!

My face turned scarlet instantly, and what made it worse was the fact that my enhanced eyesight allowed for me to see everything. I mean **everything**, and let me tell you, it wasn't unpleasant sight really.

Emma looked back at me with a smirk on her face and she saw my face. Her eyes went wide, her smirk widening into a cheshire grin, and I sweat dropped as I quickly looked away. It was a really good thing that he went back inside quickly, cause I was staring. Now I know how Emma feels when she looks at Shuan shirtless (which is quite often).

I turned away and tried desperately to cover the blush on my face. He was well muscled for a fifteen year old. He looked pretty good, at least better than most of the guys I'd seen at home who went walking around without shirts all the time.

_'You're turning into a little pervert aren't you'?_ Shirozangetsu asked mockingly. I could feel his smugness at my embarrassment.

_'Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP'!_ I roared mentally. Ichigo came out at that time, he was still smiling, which cleared my head and got me back focused. During the rest of the day he continued to act strange, personally, I was worried. He was even hanging out with Keigo and Mizurio, cracking jokes, and cutting up like a normal teenager. After lunch I listened to Tatsuki and Orihime talking; it was about Ichigo.

I listened and I found out that Ichigo wouldn't even be at school tomorrow. I made my own plans to skip. I would get to the bottom of this.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I left the house before anyone else woke up. I was dressed in my favorite blue cotton pants and black t-shirt that read, "I'm not anti-social. I just hate you.", with my white flip flops. I followed Ichigo's reiatsu; he seemed to be heading for the cemetery on the other side of town.

I got there before he did though, thanks to a shortcut I found through a warehouse district. I stood there in the cemetery, waiting on top of the huge hill where the graves started at when Rukia showed up. She was wearing a yellow summer dress with a sunhat. We talked for a minute about why Ichigo had been acting weird. She was here to keep an eye on him in case a hollow showed up. I didn't bother to tell her that I could easily handle it.

I noticed Ichigo and his family walking up the path. I noticed something strange about his sisters. I knew that the one with the raven colored hair was Karin, she'd been the one from before, and the blondish brunette was Yuzu, they both had higher than normal reiatsu levels. Heck they could become shadow shinigami in a few years if they wanted to, I bet.

They were around ten years old or so, which was the same time I got my powers, but then again, I was considered an oddity among my fellow shadow shinigami. Most shadow shinigami get their powers between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.

Ichigo's dad was walking up the hill on his hands (strange man, I swear). Karin kicked him in the face and he went rolling down the hill and he even rolled around the corner.

_'I give it a nine point five'._ Shiva said with a giggle.

_'Same'._ Shirozangetsu commented.

_'I give it a strait ten'._ I said with a smirk.

Rukia started waving and calling out to Ichigo, I copied her to have some fun. He looked up at us and deadpanned, complete with dropped jaw and bugged out eyes. A nice reaction I might add. His sisters looked at us and they said something to him, but I was too far away to hear what they said. He started acting weird and making weird poses.

He ran up the hill with quite the bit of speed, he grabbed both Rukia's and my own wrist. He then pulled us to the other side of the cemetery and away from his family. I had to resist the urge to twist around and attack the arm that was gripping my own. It was a reflex reaction to when people in the past have tried to force me into doing something by grabbing my arms.

Thankfully, it was an easily suppressed urge. I also felt a small jolt go through my body that started from the wrist he had a hold of. I also realized something, this was the first time I've ever physically touched him, even though it was him grabbing my wrist to drag me somewhere.

When he stopped, we were in a secluded spot, surrounded by trees, and much further up the path. I had to admit that this place was pretty...for a cemetery that is. Then again, I work with the dead on a daily basis, so what do I care?

This turned out to be the place his mother was buried. He told us about what happened when he was nine. I felt so sorry for him that he had to go through that. The way that he told the story made me think that he was blaming himself, he may not have said it out loud, but it was obvious. Rukia spoke up.

"It may have been a hollow that killed your mom. It could have been after you since you had high reiatsu levels, but killed her instead". She had a point. If he had even a fraction of the reiatsu has now, then hollows would surely have been attracted to him as a kid.

"It's always hollows with you. Dammit, a hollow didn't kill my mother...I did. You don't know what kind of pain I've been through, the hell I've been through". He gritted though his teeth; his fist clenched at his sides. He looked like he was about to have a breakdown, and a guy breakdown means yelling for everyone to go to hell while taking their anger out on inanimate objects. So I grabbed Rukia's wrist and I placed my other hand on Ichigo's arm to comfort him.

He raised his head and he looked at me. Our eyes locked and I felt something go between us. It only lasted a second, but it felt like an eternity passed.

My whole body seemed to tingle with that same small electrical jolt. It was a hundred times stronger than the one before though when he had my wrist, now it was spreading throughout my whole body.

I gave him a small comforting smile, then released his shoulder, and dragged Rukia off to leave him alone for a while. My hand that had been touching his shoulder felt like it had been asleep and it was waking up from the numbness, the pins and needles feeling, but without the pain. I flexed my fingers to try, however unsuccessfully, to remove the tingling feeling.

I released Rukia's hand after I put some distance between us and Ichigo. She looked at me worriedly and I spoke up.

"Just let him be for now. He's in a lot of pain. Though you might be right, it could have been a hollow, but we weren't there and so we can't know for sure. For now, let him be". I said seriously as I looked back at where we'd come from. Ichigo's silhouette stood against the background of the sun shining through the trees. His head was bowed and I could still see his fist at his side.

I felt a vibration in my pocket. I took it out and flipped open the small electronic device. Emma had texted my phone asking, **'Where the hell are you'! ** I texted her saying that I was just ditching for the day and that she didn't need to worry. Rukia and I were walking back towards the cemetery. That's when I noticed that we weren't alone.

I saw a man who was clearly a soul reaper leaning against a tree, sleeping. I instantly tensed up.

_'How in the hell did I not feel his presence earlier'._ I mentally growled.

_'Well his reiatsu's so freak'n low that he didn't even register'._ Shirozangetsu commented. It was true. He was pathetically weak. Rukia's had been greater when I'd first seen her.

"Do you know this guy"? I asked Rukia. She was from the Soul Society so she should know. She shook her head. Well then, so much for that thought.

"He's from the Soul Society, that's all I know". I sweat dropped.

_'Well no shit he's from the Soul Society. His reiatsu's so weak he couldn't be anything but a soul reaper. Well that or a human'._ I thought snidely. I walked up to his sleeping form, and bent over him.

"Hey buddy, what are you doing here"? He lifted his head up and he looked at me groggily. I noticed that Rukia had grabbed the mod soul from her backpack and she said something in a hushed voice.

"Kon, hurry, go get Ichigo, now". Kon, as Rukia called him, ran off in the direction Ichigo was. So apparently Rukia though that this was a bad situation. Apparently I still needed some assistance for Soul Society politics, because he couldn't be a real physical threat. My left pinky finger had more reiatsu in it than this guy did.

Ichigo got here quickly with Kon in his hands. The soul reaper was talking about things like Rukia being a Kuchiki princess. I was confused about what was going on. I would get Rukia to explain later. I jumped out of my body and Ichigo took the pill out of the toy. He left his body as well. The soul reaper asked me who I was. I answered in my sweetest voice.

"My names Dominique Kudo. That's all you really need to know". Not many soul reapers had ever heard of Squad 0 so it was best not to mention it. I wasn't about to get in trouble for yammering about Squad 0 to every soul reaper there was. He deadpanned for an instant and then he asked Ichigo who he was.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute soul reaper". At this the soul reaper's eyes got wide. This had apparently not the answer he was looking for.

"So the rumors are true". So the Soul Society has already heard about what's been happening here. Not bad, since normally they were the last people to find out about anything.

He went to attack Ichigo and I grabbed my own zanpakuto from my back. I shunpoed in front of Ichigo and blocked the soul reaper's blade with my own. I grabbed the collar of his shihakusho with my other hand, and threw him across the path that we were on.

He stood up and he looked at me in confusion, I grinned at him. Then I felt a strong, dark reiatsu fill the air. It was a hollow, and a strong one at that, stronger than the normal run of the mill hollow at least. It was back towards Ichigo's family!

"Ichigo, there's a hollow close to your family! Come on we have to hurry, forget this loser". I jumped up into the air and went on ahead. Just as I got there, I saw that the hollow had Yuzu in one of its hands, and Karin pinned to the ground with the other hand. Shiva whined in my head.

_"Let me eat this one, please. I haven't had anything to eat in weeks"._

_'Maybe, if you behave. And Ichigo doesn't see'._ She didn't seem to realize that I hadn't eaten anything either. We were both becoming weak from not hunting. We would need to eat soon.

_'Why can't Ichigo see'?_ She asked in a puppydog voice.

'_Isn't it obvious you baka'?_ Shirozangetsu interrupted.

'_Shut up Shirozanny'._ He got pissed from that.

'_YOU SHUT UP'!_ I interrupted their argument.

_'I don't really know, my guts just telling me not to until I think that he can handle the knowledge that I got my powers from two hollows that live inside of my soul. That would probably freak him out if I told him now'. _I jumped towards the hollow and was able to get Karin and Yuzu away from the giant furball of a hollow. Karin was still conscious, she looked up at me.

"It's alright Karin. I'll deal with the monster. You can rest now". She moved her mouth to say something, but passed out before she could say it. I sat her on the ground gently and that's when Kon, who was in Ichigo's body, showed up.

"Kon, take them and go to the main shrine at the entrance". I remembered seeing the place when I first got here. He picked them up and he ran back towards the entrance hill.

Ichigo, Rukia, and that soul reaper showed up a few seconds after that. Ichigo and I started fighting the hollow. The other soul reaper even jumped in too. When we were fighting it started to rain. This hollow was actually a challenge because I couldn't get close to it. It's fur moved on its own and it could harden enough to pierce skin.

That was proved when the soul reaper got stabbed right in the stomach. I didn't pay him much attention though, his wound wasn't deep, he'd just passed out (wimp). I had to cut Ichigo out of the mess of hollow fur twice.

Just then both of us saw something that made me realize that it was a hollow that killed Ichigo's mother; this hollow to be exact. We both saw a female whole standing in front of the hollow. It had something coming out of its head. I saw that it was attached to the hollow like a lure on a fishing pole. I grimaced when I remembered Ichigo telling us about him seeing a female whole with a white cloak and black hair just before his mother died.

"I know of this hollow. He's evaded the Soul Society for over fifty years. His code name is Grand Fisher". Rukia said in shock a short distance behind us. Then I turned to Ichigo, who had frozen as he stared at the girl.

"Is that the girl you saw by the river where your mom died"? I asked. He nodded as his eyes blazed in rage, then he roared. He raised his zanpakuto and he charged at Grand Fisher. I pulled back and stood off to the side. I knew that he would have to fight this battle alone. He was about to avenge his mother. I would have to stay out of this fight.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I was twitching like crazy. I wanted so badly to go and help Ichigo. He was losing the fight and my own reiatsu was going haywire. Shirozangetsu and Shiva were busy trying to calm me down. Grand Fisher had stabbed Ichigo by changing his lure to look like Ichigo's mother and he caused Ichigo to hesitate. Just as Grand Fisher was about to deliver the final blow, I decided to intervene.

"ICHIGO"! Everyone froze, even the hollow. I then continued in a hurried voice, "That is not your mother! Don't let this fucker make you think otherwise! All he did was take that lure's looks from your memory! You are strong enough to resist! Now fight and show that hollow what you're made of"! I yelled out to him.

Ichigo's eyes blazed with a new determination. He ripped Grand Fisher's fur out of his right shoulder and he rushed at him. He drove his zanpakuto into Grand Fisher's shoulder and out through his side. Grand Fisher roared, vowing that he would return and he then disappeared into a garganta.

Ichigo tried to run after him, but he tripped and started to fall forward. I rushed forward and caught him. He was bleeding heavily and he was still trying to go after Grand Fisher like an idiot.

"Ichigo, the battle is over. You need to rest now. Now stay still so I can heal you". I said sternly. He passed out, his head slumped forward, and rested on my shoulder. His whole body then slumped and the tingling feeling returned, but I ignored it. I set him down on his back with his head in my lap.

Thankfully the rain had stopped and I began to heal him using a strong healing shadow. As I healed Ichigo, the soul reaper and Rukia talked, then he left in a Senkaimon soon after. I did hear him say one thing though before he left.

"You can't keep this up forever". I didn't know what that meant exactly, but when I was finished healing Ichigo he was long gone, so I couldn't ask.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Night had fallen. Ichigo was standing in front of his mother's grave. I was back in my body and was sitting in a tree on the hill behind the graves, looking up at the clear sky, the clouds were gone and I could see everything from the twinkling stars to the pale full moon. Rukia was standing at the base of the tree, leaning against it.

I noticed that someone was coming. I heard Ichigo talking to his dad soon after hearing the approching footsteps. Soon the scent of a cigarette made its way up to me. I started gagging and I held my nose shut (I'm sorry to all you smokers out there, but cigarettes are just plain nasty!). Ichigo's dad soon left and so did the scent of cigarette smoke. I took a deep breath of clean air.

"Rukia, I want to stay a soul reaper for just a little longer if that's alright"? Ichigo's voice came from the bottom of the hill.

"Yes". She answered happily. I continued to look up at the sky, I looked to the pale ivory moon...and smiled.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Today I was heading into town to shop for groceries since tonight it was my turn to cook dinner. I'd passed Ichigo's house a few minutes ago on my way to the store when I saw him walking apparently back home. He had a book in his hand and seemed to be really interested in it.

"Yo, Ichigo! What's up"? I said in greeting as I walked up to him. He looked down at me in surprise.

"Hey Dominique, what are you doing here"? He asked.

"Oh, just going shopping. Gotta get something to make for dinner tonight. That and a few new manga that just came out too". I beamed happily. There was the newest Black Butler volume out, and Vampire Game as well that I wanted to get, as well as a Dragonball Z manga too.

"Which ones"? He asked as if he read my mind.

"Black Butler, Vampire Game, and Dragonball Z". I said with a smile. He looked at me in confusion.

"Dragonball Z"? I frowned at his surprised tone.

"So what? I like Dragonball Z, I watched it since I was a little kid. Though the manga is way different from the anime, I love them both". I said defensively.

"Oh. I just figured you'd be the one to read Shojo manga instead of Shonen". I got irritated at that.

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I like all that girly crap. I'll take blood and guts over romance any day". I said with a smirk. He sweat dropped.

"Oh". Was all he said.

"So what's that book you got"? I said as I snatched the book from his hands.

"Hey"! He complained. I turned the book's cover towards me and saw that it was an astrology book. It confused me. I wouldn't have put Ichigo to be the type to believe in astrology or any of that fake psychic crap. There were such things as real psychics, and then there were the fake con-artist that used people for money. I opened it and flipped through it.

"When's you're birthday"? I asked nonchalantly. He paused a moment before answering.

"July 15th". I nodded and turned to the Cancer section.

"Cool. Mine's December 31st". I said as I found this week's horoscope for Cancer.

"There's no easy way to say it, this week will be catastrophic. Bad things will rain down on you - you may even lose your will to live. 3 Your lucky number is 666. Your lucky colors are red on black"! The thing said. I snickered and looked up at Ichigo. It did seem like he was having a bad week. He had three cuts on his face and I also noticed that one of his shoelaces had snapped.

"Sooo. How's been your week"? I asked with a smirk. He glared at me.

"None of your business". He said as he tried to take the book back from me. I jumped back and easily evaded his grasping hands. I heard him growl as he lunged for the book. I quickly lifted my right jean covered leg into the air, making him run directly into my flip-flopped foot with his face. I then leaned back away from his hands and turned to the Capricorn section.

"This is a good week. You'll laugh easily, good luck will come to you, and the love of your life will grow closer to your heart. Be wary though, humiliation is on the horizon. Your lucky number is 13. Your lucky colors are orange and black". I rolled my eyes at the horoscope as Ichigo continued to try and grab the book from me, only for me to dodge, duck, or lightly smack him away.

I laughed at his struggle, but eventually tossed the book back to him. He huffed loudly as he glared at me. I smirked at his irritation.

"Later strawbs. Hope the rest of your week's better than it has been~". I said cheerily as I walked past him, leaving him in my dust. I turned around just slightly and saw that his face was set into that of shock, making me laugh loudly at the sight.

_'Hmmm, maybe those horoscopes do have a little truth to them...nah. Still a bunch of crap'._ I thought to myself with a smirk.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Days later, we were in class, and I was getting freaked out. Almost everyone was crossing their arms over their chest and doing some weird yell/laugh.

"Bwahahahahaha"! The only people who weren't doing it were Tatsuki, myself, and Ichigo. Keigo told us that a live TV show viewing was going to be hosted in Karakura Town tonight. The show was called Spirit Hunter. Keigo was constantly bugging Ichigo about coming to see the live show. I was sitting in my chair looking at the ceiling.

Then Chizuru's face appeared over me; she had a lecherous grin on her face. This was one of the few people that actually freaked me out on a daily basis. She was always trying to get with Orihime, but since she's strait she doesn't pay much attention to Chizuru, plus the fact that Tatsuki was always stopping her.

It looked like Chizuru was about to try and make a move on me. She went to grab at me, I put up two fingers, and placed them on her forehead as she leaned towards me as if to hug me. I pushed on her forehead until she fell backwards, and landed on her ass. I laughed under my breath and then Miss Ochi called for class to begin.

_'Saved by the bell, teacher style'._ I snickered in my head as I turned to face the board.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Okayyyy. Both Ichigo and I were deadpanning, even Rukia was doing the ridiculous Bwahahahahaha thing. This was seriously weird. Rukia then asked us what this festival was about. Both Ichigo and I did a comic fall out of shock.

"You don't even know what's going on and yet you're doing the same dorky thing that the others are doing"? We both asked at the same time.

"Yah, cause it seems fun". I then noticed a disturbing sound. It sounded like someone moaning. Ichigo noticed it too so the three of us followed the sound. We ended up at the abandoned hospital where the TV show would be shooting from. I noticed that there was a chain wrapped around the building. At the end of the chain I saw a whole that was in front of the hospital.

He was a Jibuki spirit, a demi-hollow.

He was definitely pissed. He was calling out cusswords to everyone there, thankfully nobody but us could hear him. Then I heard the whirring of helicopter blades, so I looked up, as did everyone else.

A man came flying out of the helicopter in what I can say is the most ridiculous costume I have ever seen in my life time.

"I'm guessing that this man is the famous Don Kanonji that everyone has been going on about". Emma said beside me, which made me jump.

_'When in the hell did she get here'?!_ She saw my jump and she laughed and whispered in my ear.

"You shouldn't let your focus down just because you're by the boy you gotta crush on". I jumped in shock.

"Emmmmaaaa"! I whispered back. She merely took a step to the right, out of my reach, and she laughed under her breath as she disappeared into the crowd. I was left to stand there fuming, with a tick mark on my forehead. I then turned my attention back to the strangely dressed man who could pass for a drag queen with dreads.

He was looking passed the whole who was giving him a thorough cussing out.

_'It's a good thing he can't see them or he would be seriously freaked'._ I thought to myself, and then Don Kanonji did something I thought a normal human would never be able to do. He lifted his weird cane and he stuck it into the crack between where the Chain of Fate connected to the whole's body.

The whole started screaming in pain. The crack between his body and the Chain of Fate turned into a small hole and it was getting bigger by the second. I called out to Ichigo.

"We gotta stop him now"! I let Shiva take over my body and I jumped out of it. I jumped directly overhead the massive crowd and I landed beside the stupid, gay looking man. Just as I got there though, the whole blew apart.

_'Dammit! There's gonna be hell to pay for this'!_ Ichigo got beside me a second after the whole blew up.

"Dominique. Why did the whole blow up"? Ichigo asked seriously and out of breath.

"When a whole becomes a hollow, they blow up and then they rematerialize somewhere else. I've seen it first hand, it's not pretty". He nodded and we looked around for when the hollow would appear. The man, Don Kanonji started trying to talk to us. He just kept trying to tell us 'kids' to get outta here. I'd had enough. I grabbed him by the front of his ugly shirt, pulled him down so that we were face to face, and yelled at him.

"You idiot! It's you who needs to get out of here! There's a monster coming soon so get a move on it"! Just then I felt something pulling on me. I looked up and saw the forming body of the hollow. Soon the mask appeared and It roared out. It looked like a skinny tree frog. Shirozangetsu then commented nonchalantly.

_'__'Well at least this one isn't as ugly as the normal hollows we deal with'._ I agreed with him on that one. It jumped off the roof and went after Ichigo. I rushed forward and blocked it. I sent the hollow flying into the hospital wall. It tried to get its head out of the wall, but it was stuck. Soon though it went through the wall and went inside the hospital. Ichigo grabbed the idiot man and he dragged him into the hospital, successfully breaking the glass doors. I rushed in after him.

Ichigo ran until he hit a dead end hallway. He stood there arguing with Don Kanonji and I was on guard. Then suddenly, the wall beside me exploded and the froghead came at me. I tried to block it with my blade, but it tore a large gash into the ceiling before it collided with the froghead. Ichigo tried to attack and his zanpakuto did the same as mine.

I made the cloth wrap back around my zanpakuto and put it back onto my back. I would fight him with hakuda. Just as I did that, the froghead spit at me. I was able to dodge and saw Ichigo get hit with the spit. It landed on his hands that were gripping his zanpakuto. He tried to move his hands, but they were stuck.

_'Well at least it isn't acid this time'._ I thought. I crouched low to the ground and shot upward, landing a massive kick to the froghead's face. It flew up through the ceiling and through the other floors until I could see the stars outside from the hole.

"Ichigo, hurry up to the roof". I crouched down and I jumped up to the roof. The froghead came at me. I held it off with my hakuda until Ichigo came. It spit at Ichigo and his stupid self that can't dodge an attack to save his live, got hit. My stupid self for trying to save him, got stuck to the barrier wall on the roof with him.

I tried to move so I could at least blast our way out of this hardened goop, but even my hands were stuck. The froghead was coming at us and then Don Kanonji blocked the hollow with his cane. He then pointed his hand at us and a bright light emitted from it. The light dimmed down until it turned into a small energy ball. It started to float to us. (I mean float, as in slow motion.) I deadpanned at it.

_'How pathetic'_. I thought to myself. When it hit the goop, surprisingly, it exploded. Both Ichigo and I screamed in shock. Well at least the goop was off. Just then Don Kanonji was thrown by the froghead and he landed on the roof floor with a dull thud.

I charged at the froghead at the same time Ichigo did. Don Kanonji woke up and he was watching us fight. Ichigo and I landed two good hits to the froghead's mask. It fell to the ground and it began to disappear. This one did something different than most hollows, it turned back into the whole and then it disappeared. It must have done that because it was freshly transformed. Don Kanonji looked at it with a shocked look on his face.

"Th-this is my doing"? Ichigo looked at him.

"Yes. That whole was the hollow that we just fought". I heard the suddenly depressed looking man whimper.

"So, all this time...what I've been doing...was wrong". He sobbed. I spoke up.

"Just never do it again kay"? I said in an irritated voice. Don Kanonji then looked up with a fierce look of determination on his face. He spoke up with determination.

"I will learn all I can from you two." He pointed to Ichigo, "You will be my number one pupil". Then he quickly pointed to me, "You shall be my number two pupil". Both Ichigo and I yelled out at the same time.

"That's a demotion"!

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The next day, Orihime, Tatsuki, my friends, Ichigo, Keigo, Mizurio, Chad, and Rukia were all in the principal's office. The football (Soccer for you Americans like me out there) coach was giving us a thurough lecture on what Ichigo had done at the spectacle last night; he even had a tape of it. Turns out that Ichigo had gotten stopped by the security team and so did Rukia.

Well it explained why he had been out of breath when he caught up to me. The man that Rukia told me was named Urahaha had come by and helped Ichigo out. Orihime and Tatsuki bailed out on us and that sort of pissed Ichigo off. While the adults weren't looking, I bent down to whisper my plan in Rukia's ear since Emma was on the other side of the room. She looked at me and nodded. I blinked my eyes a few times to make fake tears brim on the edges.

"(Sniffle, sniffle.) I-I'm so sorry sir. Both me and Rukia tried to stop Ichigo, but he wanted to be on TV so badly that we couldn't get to him in time". I knew I had the innocent schoolgirl look down. I had my head slightly lowered in submission, tears at the corners of my eyes as I looked up through my eyelashes, my arms behind my back, and the tip of my right foot drawing small circles on the floor.

Ichigo and the others were looking at me like I'd lost my mind. I used Emma's speed cheat sign language behind my back with my right hand. Emma saw it, she grinned, and whispered to the others to jump out the window when the adults had their attention on us. Rukia then joined me in the act.

"You should just punish us sir". The look on the man's face was priceless as he reached for us as if to try and give us comfort. This was one of the times I really wanted my old video camera. Adults were so easy to fool, especially men.

The others made it outside just in time for the balding man to see Keigo jump out the window. I saw that all of them were running as fast as their legs could carry them. I smirked as Keigo made it out the window and took off running after Ichigo and the others.

I looked out the corner of my eyes and saw that Rukia had slipped out the door for her own escape, but I had a better idea. I ran at the old man and I jumped leap frog style over his head. I even used his head to make the jump more impressive. I landed lightly on the windowsill. Just as I was about to jump out the window, the principal called out to me.

"Hey, could you get me an autograph from Don Kanonji"? I laughed, this principle was alright.

"Sure thing teach!" I did a peace out salute sign, jumped from the window, and took off running. I quickly caught up to the others, laughing all the while. That was the most fun I'd had in a long time.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"You know, you could've given us some warning". Ichigo complained after we got to one of the empty school alleys. He was giving me a glare that I easily ignored.

"I did. I told Emma, then she got you out of there while Rukia and I distracted the teachers". Rukia spoke up.

"I have to admit it was a good idea. And it was fun too". My stomach growled.

"Come on guys, let's go get something to eat. I'm starved". I said as I walked out the alley to find me something to eat.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

A few days later I stood with my friends at the board that had our rankings on the exam scores. I was proud of myself; I was ranked second, only to Uryu Ishida. Third was Orihime; fourth was Emma and so on. Ichigo was ranked 23rd. Keigo and Mizurio were acting weird and calling all the people that scored high, nerds and that they were not their friends.

Ichigo didn't seem to care too much, but at the same time he looked like he was going to hit the crap out of him. I lifted my hand to Ichigo and winked at him. I walked up to Keigo, using my most innocent puppy dog face and light and slightly hurt voice.

"You don't think I'm a nerd, do you Keigo?" He deadpanned for a second and that gave me the perfect shot. I face palmed his face so hard that he was sent careening down the hallway. I turned back to the others with a satisfying smirk on my face.

I saw Rukia running down the hallway with her soul phone in her hand. She grabbed Ichigo and she lead him down the hallway, and when I say that, I mean that Ichigo is getting his butt dragged down the hallway by a midget. Which is completely hilarious.

Emma and I laughed at the scene, we were probably remembering the times when she had dragged me down the hallways at our old schools. She used to grab my book bag and would drag me down the hallways, she was always in such a rush that all I could do was try not to fall over. Even now she can still do that. It's not that I can't stop her, it's just such an old pastime for us that I don't bother.

I saw Uryu Ishida walking down the hallway, Ichigo had finally righted himself and he accidentally bumped into Uryu's shoulder. Ichigo apologized and continued to follow Rukia. Uryu stood there for a moment looking ahead and then he brushed off his shoulder like something vile had touched him there.

He continued to walk down by us and I could have sworn he looked at me with hate filled eyes, but the glare of his glasses prevented me from confirming the thought.

_'What the fuck's his problem'?_ I thought to myself as I headed towards class.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

A few nights later I noticed a hollow's reiatsu so I decided to go deal with it, but when I got there, there was no hollow...again. This was the fifth time in the past three days, and it was beginning to really piss me off. I could only feel a slight trace of the hollows lingering reiatsu and a trace of an unfamiliar reiatsu. I looked around in confusion until I saw Ichigo and Rukia walk up to me. Ichigo looked at me questioningly.

"Did you take care of the hollow"? He asked.

"No. I don't know who did but something is taking out the hollows before anyone else can get to them. All of my friends confirmed this with me earlier. They've felt the hollows, but when they go to deal with them there is no trace of the hollows." I then noticed that someone was trying to conceal their reiatsu from us. It wasn't a soul reaper or anything I've ever felt before.

I looked around to find the source of the energy. I looked until I locked eyes with Uryu Ishida. He was wearing an all-white outfit except for the occasional blue here and there. He was standing there just looking at us with a look of superiority that instantly ticked me off.

"You're Uryu Ishida right". I asked, not knowing if he could see us or not?

"Yes I am Uryu Ishida. I am a quincy. And soul reapers are my enemies". He then walked off without another word.

_'Quincy'?_ I thought to myself questioningly. Ichigo then turned to Rukia,

"What the hell is a quincy"? He asked her. She shook her head.

"The name seems familiar, but I can't remember at the moment". I said with a shrug. I looked around and decided that it was late and time to kick back and chill for the night.

"(Yawn) Well since there isn't a hollow here anymore, I'm heading on back to bed, we got school tomorrow after all. Night". I waved to them and walked back home. The term quincy seemed familiar as well, but I couldn't be sure. Oh well, I'd deal with it after I got some sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Then next day I noticed Ichigo following Uryu after school, so I completely hid my own reiatsu and followed them. I trailed after them up to a set of stairs in a park. That was when Uryu turned around and told Ichigo to just stop trying to hide because he could tell that he'd been following him this whole time.

He didn't call my name so I guessed that he didn't know that I was following him too. Ichigo stepped around the corner and I followed behind him. Ichigo looked back at me in shock and even Uryu looked at me with a confused face. He was about to say something before I cut him off.

"Just because you can sense his reiatsu doesn't mean you can sense mine. I actually have training in this field so don't you dare undermine my abilities". I glared up at him. He had nothing to say to this so he put his hands in his pockets.

"We're going to have a little contest to see who is the strongest". Ichigo cut him off before he could continue.

"Let's do this right now"! Ichigo said defiantly. He changed into a soul reaper with Kon from his pocket.

_'He must want to fight Ichigo. Ichigo is a sure to win'._ I thought to myself.

"Fine then, let the contest...begin". He pulled something small and silver from his pocket, it seemed familiar for some reason. He held it up in the air and he crushed it.

Two seconds later...

_'Shit'!_ Shirozangetsu cursed.

_'What, what's going on Shirozangetsu? Is Shiva pissing you off again? Hehe_'. Shiva then answered, with a huff.

_'No I am not, and that stupid idiot of a kid just set off some hollow bait'._ I took a breath through my mouth and registered that it was true. I tasted the alluring scent on my tongue.

"What in the hell did you just do, you baka"!? I glared at the foolish boy. Uryu looked at me smugly.

"I just crushed a small amount of hollow bait. The contest is to see who can kill the most hollows". He said off handedly. Ichigo then yelled at him.

"You idiot! Innocent people could get killed"! I wasted no time. This required Squad 0 to deal with a hollow outbreak that was sure to come from that. Even though it had seemed like a small amount of hollow bait, that small tablet had the potential to lure thousands of ravenous hollows to Karakura town since there seemed to be something here that attracted a large amount of them anyway. I needed my section to deal with this and protect the people here.

"I'm going to get the others and tell them what's going on. Don't do anything stupid Ichigo"! I turned tail and ran back in the direction of my friends. I opened my senses and located my section. Just as I was about halfway there, a hollow jumped out of a garganta, and tried to grab me.

"Dammit"! I cursed in surprise. I twisted around, jumping out of my body, and Shiva took over it for me all in a matter of seconds.

_'I'll have to start, Shiva can go on ahead'._ I turned to look at Shiva who dived away from another hollow as it appeared from a garganta.

"Shiva, go tell the others what's going on. Shirozangetsu and I can handle this for the moment. Then when you're done get back here and join the party after you put my body somewhere safe". I said as I punched a hollow into a nearby tree as I reached for my Zangetsu.

"Gottcha. On my way". Shiva nodded and took off in the direction of the house. Shirozangetsu had already materialized and took down a hollow and was going after another one. They seemed to be everywhere. I was sensing at least a hundred hollows already. Soon though the numbers were decreasing in large numbers. My friends had spread out over the town to deal with all the hollows.

I was having more fun than I'd had in a long time. I was letting the hollows come to me and then I would take out several of them at one time. I even devoured a few of the smaller hollows, my energy spiked and I felt like I had just drank several energy drinks. I had finally gotten a good meal.

I was giggling like a maniac. I'd begun to actually think that this was a good thing that happened.

Soon though my mood was ruined. I saw a huge black thing in the sky, the sky itself was cracked, it was as if something huge was going to come out of a garganta. I deadpanned and stood there in utter shock. I called to Shiva and Shirozangetsu who were just finishing up a group of hollows that had surrounded us.

"That can't be what I think it is, can it? Ohhh shit". A memory flashed through my mind of that night when I was twelve.

_Flashback:_

I was sitting on a radio station tower just after midnight. It was a calm peaceful night in October. It had been just about two years since I'd gotten my powers. I had just joined Squad 0 on my twelfth birthday. I was currently in training, so I was still a rookie. I had just discovered that I had a half hollow form. It was totally awesome and I had been training to master this ability for a full month now. Captain Rose was helping me with it, and teaching me how to control it.

With this ability came the price of me having to eat a hollow every now and again. Shiva had a hunger for hollows that Shirozangetsu didn't, so when I changed into my half hollow form I usually became extremely hungry, but nothing satisfied me until my instincts took over one night while I was fighting a weak hollow and I actually ripped off a piece of a hollow's arm and shoved it down my throat. It satisfied me to the point where I was bubbling with joy.

I sat on the tower, waiting for some random hollow to pop up here or in a few miles radius. I then felt a great overpowering presence fill the air. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end.

"Shirozangetsu...what in the hell's going on"? I asked in confusion as I looked around.

_'I don't know. Take caution. Go bankai alright'?_ I stood up and took my blade off my back. I put it forward and the hilt cloth wrapped itself around my right arm as if it was alive. I let my energy flow through me and called out quietly.

"Bankai". The familiar shadow-like power surrounded and flowed through me. Soon the smoke cleared and I was left standing there with my sword, noticeably smaller and my altered outfit. I stood tall to wait for whatever came at me.

Soon though I saw something huge and pure black in the starry night sky. It was a full moon so that's why it was so easy to see. The blackness expanded and something white came out of it. It was a huge, white, clawed hand.

The hand seemed to rip open the sky and the next thing that came out was a huge foot, and then something pointy came out. A few seconds later I saw that the pointy thing was the nose of a huge hollow.

_'That is a menos grande, or gillian. Watch yourself. These things are incredibly stupid, but are still almost impossible to kill unless you know what to do. Be careful, since you've not eaten in a while'._ I nodded to myself, remembering learning about the gillians in class at the Academy. The menos came out of the huge rift and when it took a step it seemed to create an earthquake. I used my enhanced speed to jump to the ground and take in the situation.

I decided the best way to destroy the menos was to set a powerful Getsugatensho at its mask. I flew back up into the air, got into my stance, and felt all of my energy flow from me and into my blade.

I raised my blade an did a sideways slash to release the energy. My Getsugatensho shot from my blade in a crescent moon shape attack blast. It hit the menos flat in the face. The mask cracked, and a huge gash appeared on its body. The menos roared in pain. I fell to my knees on the air.

_'Stupid, stupid! Ugh, I used up most of my reiatsu on that attack and the most I could get was the damn thing's mask being cracked and a cut on it. I'm still too freaking weak'! _ Shirozangetsu then spoke up to calm me.

_'Let me take over. I'll finish it off. Consider this as a learning experience'._ Shiva then butted in.

_'Then you get to brag about defeating a menos grande to your friends at home, and the Shadow Academy'._

"Yah only because my hollows had to save my ass, **again**". I huffed to the air. I felt Shirozangetsu's reiatsu rise as he waited for me to relinquish control. I handed him the reins, so to speak. My mask formed over half of my face and my mouth turned up into its usual grin when either Shiva or Shirozangetsu take over my body.

He gripped my zanpakuto and crouched. He shot up higher into the air and he slashed downward on the menos' s mask while simultaneously using his energy fueled Getsugatensho at the same time. Soon the menos grande disappeared like any other hollow. Shirozangetsu then spoke through my mouth.

"You did well for your first gillian. You did more than what I thought you could have done. You've grown strong, and at this rate you'll be an actual challenge for me when we go all out again". He gave me back control and I sat down on the air.

"Yah, yah, I know. I will beat you one day. I will get stronger". I huffed as sweat dripped down my face. He laughed.

_'That's what I wanna hear'._ He said with a mental smirk. To tell you the truth, he was only the first battle I truly wanted to win. I wanted to go against Rose one day and be equal with her, but I knew that would be years and years from now. I would get strong enough to do that, I could feel the desire pulsing in my veins. I pushed it down with the thought of the training I would go through tomorrow.

Since I was still in my bankai, I decided to use the speed to get back home and back to bed so I could rest. Just because I'd fought off a gillian tonight, didn't mean that I could skip out on kido lessons tomorrow at the Shadow Academy.

_End Flashback:_

I stood there watching the rift get bigger and bigger. It was definitely a menos. I was worried, this was a much more populated area than where that first menos had appeared. If the thing wasn't killed before it got out all the way then people were gonna die. I could easily take it out with one strike, but I was afraid that it would raise questions and that my much larger reiatsu would affect people in the area.

I went to the area where the menos was most likely to appear. It turned out to be where Ichigo and Uryu were fighting back to back to try to hold off about three dozen hollows. Uryu's hand was bleeding and Ichigo seemed to be slowing down somewhat. I had a fun idea, so I jumped up into the air, and yelled out like a maniac.

"YAHOOOO! Ichigo, Uryu, DUCK"! They looked at me and they saw that I was doing one of my signature moves. I was using the cloth around my zanpakuto hilt to swing my zanpakuto at hypersonic speed over my head like a helicopter. The two boys ducked just as I landed and cleared out most of the hollows that were surrounding them.

_'Now that was fun'._ I thought to myself. I stopped the twirling, grabbed my zanpakuto hilt, and looked down at the two boys. I quickly got serious.

"You two, get up". They did as I said. I went over and punched Uryu in his head, successfully leaving a large bump where my fist made contact with his head.

"Hey what was that for?!" He yelled at me. I yelled back at him, getting in his face.

"That's for causing all of this mess! A lot of innocent people could have been killed if it wasn't for me and my section"! I flinched at my own words.

_'Oh shit, shouldn't have said that. Just keep going'._ I continued without skipping a beat.

"There are hollows all over town and **you**, you idiot are the one to blame. And now there is something coming that even you can't handle...a menos grande". They both gave me blank stares so I explained, "A menos grande is a huge hollow that is the size of a freak'n sky scraper. They are incredibly stupid, but insanely powerful. I've only had to fight one once before. It took all of my strength and then some to defeat it. If it hadn't have been for my friends helping me at the last minute, I would have been dead". That was true at least.

Then I saw the all too familiar sight of a white clawed hand grabbing the edge of the forming garganta. Then the rest of it came out of the garganta, its feet crashing to the ground with a thud. Ichigo and Uryu stood there in shock.

"That's a menos grande. It can't be. They won't be able to defeat it. When one appears the Royal Guard has to come to deal with it. They don't stand a chance". Rukia said in shock.

_'Well I guess it's a good thing I'm part of the Royal Guard'._ I thought smugly to myself.

Ichigo ran up to the thing and tried to attack its leg. Let's just say that he was unsuccessful.

He was sent flying back at us. Uryu tried to get me and Ichigo to go along with his plan up upping the power of his arrows by lending him our power. Ichigo refused, as did I. I wasn't about to be used for my power like that. Just then the menos opened its mouth and a red light started glowing from it. I heard Rukia yell from a ways back behind us.

"It's a cero, run you guys"! I sweat dropped.

_'Naw duh it's a cero. What else could it be? ...Soul reapers'. _ Ichigo ran up to the menos just as it fired the cero. The ignorant fool! I ran up just in time to help him with it. We both held our blades to stop the cero. I was actually struggling to keep the cero from hitting Ichigo and keeping my reiatsu in check. I was holding most of the energy away from him. I then decided to send the cero back at the menos instead of deflecting it.

I charged up a quick Getsugatensho and sent the cero combined with my own attack back at the menos. It hit the mask and went completely through the head, the menos disappeared with a moaning roar. I saw that Urahara and his group of people had finished up the rest of the hollows in the area so I was guessing that we were done for the day. I whistled loudly.

"Man that was close...Ichigo, what's wrong"? I turned to look at him. He looked like he was still fighting. His reiatsu was still flaring and soon became visible as it emitted from his body. He collapsed to the ground and his reiatsu raised so high that it looked like he was on fire.

I jumped up off my butt (I had been knocked down by the reiatsu wave unexpectedly) and tried to reach him. He was screaming in pain as the reiatsu poured from his body.

Uryu ran up to him and he put his foot on Ichigo's zanpakuto, causing his bow to grow three times it's normal size. He started shooting off super charged arrows into the air. I knew what he was doing. He was trying to stabilize Ichigo's reiatsu levels. I saw that Uryu's arms were being cut open by the huge power of Ichigo's reiatsu so I decided to intervene.

I rushed forward and pushed him out the way. I placed one foot on his blade and opened my body to his power. His energy filled me, streaming though my blood, and sending shockwaves through me. What was strange though was that it seemed similar to that of a shadow shinigami's reiatsu. I felt the energy raging inside of my own body, I forced it into my arms and down into my Zangetsu.

"Getsugatensho"! I snarled as I charged up the crescent energy blast and sent it flying into the air with all of Ichigo's surging energy. It shot into the sky and exploded in a surge of bright blue light that lit up the sky like a firework. I smirked up at the sky as I panted.

I looked down at my arms and noticed that they had been cut up a bit by Ichigo's raging energy, just like Uryu's arms had been.

_'Damn. His reiatsu is pretty damn dangerous if it can do that even to me'._ I thought to myself in surprise as blood dripped onto the ground from my arms. Ichigo looked up at me in shock at what I had done.

I helped Ichigo up, but with some difficulty, the cuts on my arms stung a bit, and anything that touched them sent pain up my arms. After I helped him up I stood there and healed all the cuts on my arms using a kage bakudo instead of a healing shadow since they were only simple cuts. After Uryu got up I asked him if he wanted me to heal him.

He denied and started to walk home. I was left there fuming on how stupid and ignorant he was. Ichigo tried to take a step towards the others, but he nearly fell down in the process. I went to his side and put his right arm around my shoulder.

He looked at me, an unreadable expression hidden in his eyes. I smiled at him as I made sure to keep him from collapsing. The tingling sensation ran up my arms again from where my skin touched his. Though it wasn't nearly as noticeable as it had been when we were at the graveyard.

_'I think I'm starting to get used to this'._ It wasn't a bad feeling, but it only seemed to happen when I was touching him in some way. It was a strange sensation to say the least.

I helped him over to the others. Shiva and Shirozangetsu had just re-entered into my mind after the rest of the hollows were gone and my friends were informed that Ichigo and I had taken down the menos grande. Shiva was ecstatic.

_'Well that was the most fun I've had in a long time. Maybe we should do that again'._ Shirozangetsu butted in.

_'In an unpopulated area of course'._ He said, kissing up to me. I agreed with both of them, but for now I was just happy that everyone was okay. I felt as if something had gone wrong though. I simply ignored the feeling. Nobody had died and all the hollows had been dealt with.

Not bad for a Thursday's afternoon of work if I do say so myself.

Me: Wheewwwww! Man that took forever! Sorry that it took so long to update, but again I had some serious writers block plus I have been working on my other story too. Tamera left so she won't be here to cause any more trouble so thank you all who review my two stories. Oh and to answer a reviewer question, I got Shirozangetsu from the mask. His soul was tied to the mask and it entered my soul when it landed on my head. Sort of a twist of fate thing. And Shiva, well don't we all have that other side of us that is bad. She just happened to awaken after Shirozangetsu showed up. The thing is though that all shadow shinigami are born with their powers.

Ichigo: Man this took forever!

Shiva: It was fun though.

Shirozangetsu: Yah, whatever.

Hichigo: Time for more fun later.

drmona: Sup guys.

Me: Hey what are you doing here?!

drmona: Just thought I'd drop by.

Me: Okay. Hey drmona, would you like to be in this story since you have a thing for Grimmjow? That way Grimmjow can have a pairing too.

drmona: Maybe. Thinking.

Me: Till next time, read, review and enjoy. Sayonara!

In My World by Avril Lavigne

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND SHIROZANGETSU, HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	6. Goodbyes

Me: Yay new chappy! I own nothing, so let's get on with the show!

**Chapter 6: Goodbyes **

Dominique's POV

The next day at school I was sitting with the girls for lunch. Me and my friends had been here two months now. We had been lucky that the person who was funding the trip decided to let us stay a half month more than what was originally agreed to. We were to leave in a few days though. To be honest, I didn't want to leave. I missed my family and all, but I felt like I was meant to come here.

This town felt more like home than my hometown ever felt. But now to get back to the subject at hand. Rukia, who had been acting strange all day, was sitting with us during lunch. Rukia hadn't been talking a lot all day long like she normally did. She hadn't even hit Ichigo upside the head when he called her a midget again. She seemed to be out of focus today.

When one of the girls asked her if she liked Ichigo, she shot the juice that she was drinking right out of her mouth. It even made a rainbow. My face turned red and Emma started poking me in my side. I nudged her in the ribs with my elbow. Rukia stuttered.

"N-no. We're just friends. Hehe". Then one of Orihime's friends asked me if I liked Ichigo. My face turned an even darker shade of red and started stuttering.

"Ummm-uh-uh...-". Emma busted out laughing.

"Yah she does. She's just too chicken to admit it". She said as she pointed her thumb at me, a smirk on her face. I growled under my breath.

"Emma you are so gonna pay for that". I ran at her and started to chase her across the school grounds. She was just able to stay ahead of me in this form at least. All of her time training in the JROTC helped her out here, even if it didn't do squat when we were in our spirit forms.

I kept running after her until I tripped over a soda can and I was sent flying. I landed on my chest, hard.

_'Ouch'._ Both Shiva and Shrozangetsu said. Emma helped me up with a smirk on her face. I opened a mental link with her.

_'You is so gonna get it later'. _Emma looked at me questioningly. I was using the ability that we'd learned in the Shadow Academy a few years back. It was the ability to connect minds when you made physical contact with someone. We usually only did this when we were going to do training in our inner worlds and we didn't want to train alone at the time.

_'You're on. Tonight at 9'._ She thought back challengingly. After she helped me up we walked back to the others. I sat down and continued to eat my bento.

Throughout the day I kept seeing Kon all over the school grounds. This confused me because he looked like he trying to go after girls at first, but what I saw was him getting kicked around on the soccer field, and other such painful situations like that.

All in all, it didn't seem too drastic for me to really care about it, so I didn't pay too much attention to it.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

My friends and I were walking home and we saw Ichigo on his way home as well. I saw Rukia run up to him. They talked for a short minute and then Kon just came flying out of nowhere and landed on Rukia's chest. It looked like the mod soul was crying. That left us laughing our asses off.

I noticed that Kon looked like he'd been to hell and back. He was torn up and looked like he was about to fall apart. I then turned to my friends.

"Let's go guys". I said with a smirk. We got back to the house and Jessy made dinner with the help of Shaun and myself since we were the best cooks. The teachers were, as usual, quiet, most likely thankful that they had well behaved teenagers to deal with instead of juvenile delinquents. After dinner the rest of them went and played video games. I decided to cancel to sparring session with Emma so she could play.

She looked at me thankfully before joining Claire for a round of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I wanted to be alone at the time anyway. I shut the door and watched as the teachers went to bed like every other night.

_'Old people'._ I thought with a smirk to myself. I was sure glad that, what with being a shadow shinigami, I'd live for thousands of years...if I didn't get killed in a fight that is.

I walked up the stairs and sat down on my bed. I was feeling restless so I decided to have my sparring session with Shirozangetsu and or Shiva instead. I relaxed and focused until I felt my conscious slip into the falling sensation of entering my inner world.

The next think I knew, I was in my inner world. The familiar cloudy sky, the huge trees, and the cool crisp breeze that swirled between them. The wind played with my hair, tossing it playfully around me as if in joyous welcome. I always felt better when I came here.

I searched for the two obnoxious hollows that lived here. I sensed them near the memory tree.(It's the largest tree in my inner world, it's in the very center of the forest. By going into the hollowed out base of the tree, and walking down the stairs, you walk out onto the platform that looks out over an underground lake. Go into the water and one can see any memory they choose.) Shiva was lounging on one of the tall branches.

Shirozangetsu was waiting for me on the ground. He was already in a fighting stance, zanpakuto at the ready. I grinned as I drew my own Zangetsu.

"Let's go"! I said as the grin grew on my face. Shirozangetsu did his usual laugh.

"Time for the fun to begin". I took up a fighting stance, smiled evilly, and then charged at him. I entered my bankai and slashed downward to send a strong Getsugatensho at him. He dodged it, using sonido, before coming at me from the side.

I smirked as I twisted in midair to avoid his blade as it went through the air where my body had been a half second before. I pivoted in midair and landed a round house kick to his right shoulder that sent him flying away. I watched as he caught himself in midair before he could hit the tree.

He then charged at me with his reverse Tensa Zangetsu pointed at my chest. I brought my own blade up and blocked his strike. The metallic ring of clashing swords rang through the forest and reverberated back to us. We were both using only one hand to hold our blades.

We parried back and forth, neither one giving an inch and neither one relenting from their own attacks. We clashed again and again with no stop. Maneuvering our bodies to dodge the other's blade strikes, and slashing at each other with lethal attacks. If anyone was watching, it would seem like a dance of sorts, a lethal one though. As we clashed again we were both sent flying from each other.

I landed on a large tree branch, he did the same a dozen or so meters away. We both smirked at each other before starting up the battle again with even more force behind our blows.

Hours later, we were both panting and bloodied from the small nicks and cuts we'd managed to inflict on one another. I was just about to release another Getsugatensho when I sensed a new set of reiatsus outside of my mind. They were suppressed pretty well, but I could still sense them. I spoke up.

"We'll finish the match later. I got a bad feeling about this". He nodded and I left my inner world swiftly. I opened my eyes to the dark ceiling of my room. I sat up in my bed and felt that everyone was still in the game room. I jumped out of my body and flew out the window without bothering to tell the others since they hadn't already sensed the new presences.

I decided that I would handle this on my own and that the others didn't need to be bothered. From what I could sense, it was two normal soul reapers. I could handle two regular soul reapers alone, easily at that.

I noticed my body was tensing up, as if for a fight, my instincts were screaming at me to put the pedal to the metal and go faster, but I didn't know why. I decided to go see Ichigo and Rukia. When I got to his house I noticed that there were a lot of loud crashing sounds coming from his room.

_'He must have pissed Rukia off again'. _I jumped up to the window and saw Ichigo and Kon fighting. I sat there for a moment watching the brawl between them. I was wondering where Rukia was. I noticed a note on the bed beside the window. I sat there and tried to read it. It took me a minute, but just when I was about to read it without the b's when I felt someone staring at me.

I turned around and saw Urahara coming towards me, obviously using shunpo to stand on the air. Ichigo had finally caught Kon, I fake coughed to get his attention. Ichigo turned to Urahara and I sitting in the window. Then Urahara stuck his pole through Ichigo's head, knocking Ichigo's soul out his body. Ichigo turned to Urahara.

"Thanks Hat-n-clogs". He yelled back as he jumped out his window. I asked Urahara what the heck was going on and where Rukia was. He explained the situation so far to me. My eyes went wide and I turned to follow Ichigo, but something grabbed a hold of my obi sash. I turned and saw that it was Urahara. He looked at me seriously.

"Let him go. He needs to do this alone for now. And as for you. Do you mind telling me how you got your powers. And don't skip out on anything, bankai, hollification, and Squad 0". I cringed. He knew.

"How long have you known"? I asked, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. He chuckled under his breath, before he released my sash.

"Since the battle with the menos grande". I sighed in defeat and then told him my story. He didn't once interrupt, but every now and again he would nod his head, as if he'd already known about this. This man seemed to know a lot, I wondered how he came by this information.

Ichigo's POV

I was jumping from roof to roof. I felt energy coming from down town. I rushed over there as fast as my legs would carry me. I was surprised not to see Dominique running ahead of me like she usually does. I'd gotten used to her familiar presence at my side.

I jumped onto a wall as I saw some guy with red hair that was tied up in a ponytail about to kill Uryu. The pineapple head lifted his blade up into the air.

"Time to finish this. Reflect on your stupidity as you leave this world. I'm Renji Abarai, the man who killed you". He said as he brought his blade down. I slammed my own sword down and Renji jumped up to avoid my strike. He landed on the same wall where I'd been about a second ago. He looked at me in shock as he asked who the hell I was. I set an arrogant look on my face.

"Ichigo Kurosaki. The one who's gonna kick your ass. How's it going"? I said confidently. I'd remembered how Dominique had dealt with the other soul reaper before. I'd seen her move so fast as she grabbed the guy's outfit and throw him as if he weighed only ten pounds so maybe these soul reapers were weak like that other one or something. I looked back to see Renji still looking at me in shock.

"Who are you? What squad are you in? And where did you get that ridiculously oversized zanpakuto"? He asked in amazement as I set my sword on my shoulder.

"What? It's big? I'd thought that it was just big compared to Rukia's, even though Dominique's sword is bigger than mine". I thought to myself. She carried that huge blade as if it weighed nothing, even though it was huge. I saw that he was staring at me.

_'Stop staring man. It's rude'._ I thought to myself. I looked at Rukia, who'd gotten slashed across her face.

"Ichigo...you fool. Why did you come"? She asked quietly. Renji then smirked at me.

"I see then. Now I know who the heck you are. You're the bastard who stole Rukia's powers". I gave him a serious look. I hadn't stolen them from her, she'd given them to me to save my family.

"What are you gonna do about it then"? I said in defiance. Renji jumped up into the air.

"KILL YOU"! He yelled as he began slashing at me. I was only able to bring my sword up in time to block his moves. He was taunting me, asking me if my sword was just for show. I swung my blade down and tried to hit him, but he only jumped up in the air.

_'Who the hell is this guy. He's so fast'! _ I felt a sharp pain enter my right shoulder. I fell to my knees in surprise. I moved my hand up and touched the spot where blood was escaping my body.

"It's over. Once you're dead, all the power you stole from Rukia will return to her. Then she'll go back to the Soul Society and die". I looked back at her, she wouldn't meet my eyes.

_'Rukia'. _

"Man, you're as dumb as they get. She left to protect you, but you stupidly ran after her. It was a foolish thought to think you could save her. A fake like you couldn't even put a scratch on a real soul reaper". He said smugly. My body reacted instantly to the insult. I twisted my blade upwards and nicked his chin with the tip of my sword.

_'Ha. That'll show him'._ I thought smugly to myself before speaking. I stood up, gripping my forearm as pain seared through my shoulder from the movement.

"I know you were in the middle of a speech, but I just couldn't help myself when you let your guard down. Now, please continue. You mentioned something about not being able to put a scratch on you". I said scathingly with a smirk on my face. Renji looked at me with a smirk of his own as he wiped the blood from the scratch on his chin.

"That does it". He said before he was cut off by that other soul reaper.

"Your guard **was** down Renji". The other guy said. Renji looked back at him in surprise.

"Captain Kuchiki. Sir! We really don't have to take this boy seriously-"! He was cut off again by that Captain Kuchiki guy.

"That child, Ichigo Kurosaki...I'd thought I recognized him from somewhere. There was an image only report from the Stealth Force. A menos grande was destroyed by him and another soul reaper who had long dark brown hair, also carrying an oversized zanpakuto". He said, much to Renji's shock.

_'They must be talking about that giant hollow with the pointy nose that Dominique and I took care of''._ I thought to myself. Renji looked down and snickered.

"HAHAHAHA! Yeah right! The Stealth Force is losing it's touch. You mean to say that this boy and some girl destroyed a menos"!? A tick mark grew on my head.

_'This dude seriously has problems. It'd be funny if Dominique was here. She'd probably kick his ass just for saying that'._ I thought. The guy Renji called Captain Kuchiki looked at us with expressionless eyes.

"Renji...".

"Look at his zanpakuto captain! It's nothing but a big embarrassment! It's obvious he can't control his reiatsu".

_'Well I am sort of new at this'. _ I thought irritated. Dominique had said that it took her years to get as strong as she was. Renji then turned to me.

"Hey, you?! What's your zanpakuto's name"! He yelled. I was confused.

"A name? It doesn't have a name. You named your zanpakuto"? I asked him in confusion. He laughed again, which was starting to piss me off.

"I knew it! You can't even ask your zanpakuto its name and yet you think you can fight me as an equal?! You're two thousand years too early"! He said as he ran his hand down his blade. It changed shape and turned into some weird looking thing that was segmented with fang-like protrusions from each segment.

_'What the hell'?_ I thought in shock.

"Roar, Zabimaru! Look! There stands DINNER"! He said as he leapt up into the sky. I tried to bring my own blade up in time, but I felt pain sear through my body from my left shoulder. My zanpakuto dropped from my hands in the mix of pain and shock. More pain went through me as the stretched out segments of Renji's zanpakuto each tore through my shoulder. I fell back to my knees as pain flooded throughout my whole body.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

"Well you sure have been through a lot. You've done well for yourself, Squad 0, huh... Well I think that it's about time to go get Ichigo". Just then I felt Ichigo's reiatsu spike to enormous levels. I jumped up and ran ahead of Urahara, not even bothering to look back.

I felt Ichigo's reiatsu drop and then completely disappear. I ran even faster through the air, combining shunpo and sonido. The sky had darkened and then rain began to fall. Just as I got to where Ichigo was I felt something go through the air. I landed beside Ichigo to see Rukia walk through a lighted door...a soul reaper Senkaimon.

_'Damn'. _She was heading back to the Soul Society.She was visibly upset and she looked at me one time with a look of pain and betrayal. Then she walked through the door and she was gone as the light swallowed her. I looked at Ichigo, who was lying in a pool of blood, his blood, as he looked at me with a shocked expression. His zanpakuto was lying beside him, broken.

Uryu was on the ground some distance away. He was unconscious, but otherwise mostly unharmed except a slash to his side. I bent over Ichigo to protect him some from the rain that had just started pouring down even harder. His head turned to the side to look up at me. What he saw was something that anyone rarely anyone ever saw me do anymore.

Tears were falling down my face in icy, silent streams. I hadn't cried in years, and these tears refused to stop. He looked at me one last time, his eyes softened, and then he passed out. I set my face in a determined expression, not even caring about the tears anymore as I summoned my hollow mask, put it to the side of my head, and made my wings appear. I didn't bother transforming all the way though.

I sheltered Ichigo with them, Shiva left my body, and brought Uryu, who was still unconscious, over here too. She used a lesser healing shadow to heal the gash in his side before re-entering my mind. I used my wings to protect both of them from the rain. Thank goodness that Uryu was still knocked out. I began to heal Ichigo with a stronger healing shadow, the deep blue glow flowed from my hands, and into Ichigo's body.

Urahara soon showed up with Tessai.

Tessai looked at me and then at Urahara. Urahara explained the situation to him while he helped me heal Ichigo. I let my wings disappear and my mask as well when Tessai said that Ichigo was out of critical condition. Soon Uryu woke up. I offered to heal the rest of his injuries even though they weren't too serious, but he refused yet again. He began to make his way home. I harrumphed and quickly followed Urahara and Tessai back to the Urahara Shop.

At least his side was healed, so that wasn't on my conscious. I'd decided to smack him around later for his arrogance.

Ichigo's POV

I'd tried to save Rukia from that guy Renji. It was hard to remember, everything kept blurring after that other soul reaper attacked me. Byakuya Kuchiki. He stabbed me twice in the chest. I'd felt my energy leave my body and I fell to the ground. I tried to look up at Rukia as the two soul reapers walked through the glowing doorway. She'd told me not to come after her and that if I did; she'd never forgive me.

That was when Dominique showed up. She looked at Rukia's retreating form as the weird doorway closed. Dominique then ran to me and bent over me protectively. It was cold and the rain felt like it was cutting into my skin, just as Byakuya's blade had. I managed to look up at Dominique's face and saw something that made my chest hurt to see.

She was crying. I could see the rain going down her face, but her tears were flowing from her eyes to join the rain that fell. She didn't make a sound as she cried, but the tears were enough. Her eyes had changed from their normal deep blue or greenish blue color to a dark gray tone that I'd never seen before. I had the strongest desire to reach up and wipe the tears from her eyes, but I couldn't move.

I'd never seen her cry before. Since I've met her, I've seen her happy, angry, playful, pissed, and embarrassed. I'd even seen her fake cry, but never anything like this. It seemed to tear a hole in my chest. I didn't like seeing her cry, I realized this, as the black void filled my mind.

I'd tried to say something to her, but my body wouldn't move. The cold enclosed around me as I was sent falling into the dark abyss of unconsciousness.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

"Umm, Tessai, sir, I could watch Ichigo for you. Cause if he woke up and saw you keeping watch over him like that he would probably scream and he would just re-open his wounds". Tessai had been laying on top of Ichigo. It was seriously weird and yet, at the same time, completely hilarious. I was torn between laughing and wincing at the weirdness. He thankfully agreed and left the room.

I sat beside Ichigo while he slept. I was worried about him because I couldn't feel any reiatsu coming off of him. I knew that his Saketsu and Hakusui had been pierced, so he was now a powerless human. I was saddened by the thought, since I couldn't imagine being human again. I was so used to having powers that I knew nothing of being a normal human.

That was when I heard something scratching at the door, my head tilted in confusion at the sound.

_'Does Urahara have a cat or something'? _I thought to myself as I stood up.

I went to the door, and opened it to a black cat who walked in, and sat down beside Ichigo. The cat looked at me and it seemed to want me to come sit down with it. I knew immediately that this was not a normal cat. The eyes held too much intelligence to be a simple cat, even if cats were highly intelligent creatures. This cat had human eyes in a feline body.

Not to mention, the cat had an aura of authority about it, as if it knew it was in charge. I sat down beside it, scratched the feline behind the ears, and asked it sweetly, keeping up the confused charade.

"Well, what's your name"? The cat answered in a male voice that **so** took me off guard.

"My name is Yoruichi. Your name must be Dominique Kudo". It said matter of factly. I sat there dumbfounded for a minute.

"You're not really a cat are you"? I said even though I already knew. Now it was the cat's turn to be confused. I said, "You're a person who has the ability to change into a animal right, like how I can turn into a hollified dragon"? I didn't mention, Emma, Claire, or Brandon and thier shifter powers. It wasn't my place to tell about them.

"How do you figure that"? Yoruichi asked. I giggled.

"Well for one thing, cats can't talk. That's just common sense. And second, you have the look in your eyes that you're a person, not an animal". I said matter of factly. It smiled at me.

Both Yoruichi and I talked for a while and then Yoruichi left the room to go talk with Urahara. I noticed that when Yoruichi left the room it held its tail up high. I noticed something that, in my time in training to be a veterinarian, how to tell a girl cat from a boy cat. Yoruichi was definitely a girl cat. Sure as heck didn't match the voice she used.

My thoughts drifted back to the conversation Yoruichi and I had. Yoruichi explained that Ichigo would be training in an underground training room. I would be able to stay here and train as well. That is, if I decide not to go back home to America.

Soon though Ichigo jolted awake. I put my hand on his shoulder, the tingly feeling appeared again, which I pushed back, and gently pushed him down onto the mat. I spoke to him sternly.

"Don't get up yet. You'll just open your wounds back up, and...I'm glad you're alright". I said as I looked away, heat filling my cheeks slightly. He looked at me questioningly, but I got up to walk to the door. I called out, "Urahara, Tessai, Ichigo's up"! Then I shut the door and sat back down beside Ichigo.

"Dominique, why were you crying earlier"? He asked. His eyes meeting mine with seriousness that only he seemed to be able to pull off. I sighed and was debating whether or not to tell him how I felt, or to just lie about it. I loved him, but I was afraid to say anything, after all, I had only just realized it myself. Over the past two months I'd come to really care about this orange haired boy turned soul reaper.

_'He might not love you back',_ was the thought that kept popping up in my head. For the past two months I grew to like him more and more. He was kind, brave, smart, a bit hardheaded, (Okay, way hardheaded but still?) and I had to say it, very attractive.

That's when I got a rude little intrusion in my thoughts. Thankfully though, I'd been through enough training to not show it on the outside. Shiva had started yelling...at me.

_'Well? Tell him already! You like him. And you never know, he may like you back. So say something already'!_ She ordered.

_'You know she has a point there'._ Shirozangetsu suggested with a mildly uninterested voice.

_'Thanks you guys oh so much for the advice on romance'._ I thought sarcastically. Then they both said in unison, proudly.

_'You're welcome'._ They obviously didn't get the sarcasm in my mental voice. So sad. So, I guess I had no choice on the matter.

_'Obnoxious hollows'. _Then I heard a loud yell from the both of them.

_'HEY'!_ I sighed and then I turned to Ichigo.

"I-I was crying cause I was afraid that you were gonna die". I said as I looked down embarrassingly. He looked shocked for a second.

"Why"? I was staring at his eyes and my thoughts became a jumbled mess. I didn't realize what I was saying until it had already come out.

"Because I love you". My hands shot up and covered my mouth, while my face turned thirty shades of red in an instant.

_'Finally she said it'._ Came Shiva's reply. I didn't even have the focus to answer her back.

His face turned red and he blurted.

"I love you too". Then an akward silenced filled the room. Shirozangetsu was in humorous shock.

_'Wow. See. He likes ya too. Hehe'._ He was laughing his white ass off. I could practically see him falling out of one of the trees to land on his ass while still kicking his legs up in the air in fits of laughter. Shiva's laughter soon joined his.

_'Shut up'!_ I whined to the annoying hollows. That's when Urahara and Tessai entered the room. Both Ichigo and myself got serious now that we were pulled from the awkward silence of the moment.

"Do you plan on saving Rukia"? Urahara looked at us. I turned away from Ichigo to look at Urahara.

"Do you know a way to the Soul Society Urahara"? My friends and I didn't really need any help sneaking into the Soul Society, but Yoruichi had told me that Chad and Orihime were gonna come too from the looks of things, so a reishi converter was necessary.

"Yes. It will take seventeen days to have all the preparations made to get all of you to the Soul Society". Ichigo spoke up.

"That will take too long. She could be dead by now". He tried to get up, but Urahara rushed at him and forced him back to the ground with his cane hanging right over Ichigo's face. I felt a pulse coming from the cane. I knew instantly that it was a zanpakuto.

Well that explained why Urahara knew so much about the Soul Society. He was a soul reaper himself. He'd hidden it well.

"You are not strong enough yet. You don't even have your powers anymore. And don't worry, the Soul Society usually waits a month before they execute a prisoner. We will train you for ten days then you will have seven days to rest and prepare and then we'll have thirteen days to save Rukia". He said in a light toned voice.

"Urahara, me and my friends are supposed to leave in a few days to go back to America. I need to ask my friends what they want to do. I've got my mind set though. I'm staying and I will help save Rukia". I said as I looked up at the smiling shop keeper/soul reaper.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I left soon after that and made my way back to the house using shunpo. I found Emma was still awake and waiting for me in our room. I told her to get everyone in the game room for an emergency section meeting. She didn't say anything, but nodded and left the room with swift, sure-footed steps.

When I got into my section leader mode, even she knew not to mess with me. Even though I seemed like a laid back person on the outside, I could do a 180 and be completely serious when one of my friends was in danger. Over the past two months, Rukia Kuchiki had become one of my friends.

I couldn't help but silently laugh to myself though. The thought of me, a shadow shinigami, becoming a friend with a normal soul reaper who hadn't had the strength to be promoted to Squad 0. I was friends the Squad 12 ex-captain; Kirio Hikifune. She'd helped me out when I was in shadow manipulation class even though she wasn't a born shadow shinigami herself.

I looked at my body on my bed for a moment before I re-entered it and went to the game room. Soon everyone was there, and standing in a loose circle around me. I then told them about what happened. Then I told them what we had to choose from.

"So who's with me, cause I'm going to help save Rukia". I said quietly. I could just fly back to America any time I wanted to so my transportation was nothing to really be concerned with.

The others talked it over and then Claire spoke up.

"Jessy, Brandon, and I will stay in Karakura Town. Shuan and Emma will go with you to the Soul Society". Claire said, her pink eyes looking at me with conviction.

"Why are just you three staying"? I asked. Brandon answered, his dark brown eyes looking at me seriously. Jessy nodded, her black eyes the same as the others as he spoke.

"Cause who else is gonna keep this place safe while we're gone? There seem to be way more hollows here than back at home so we're gonna stay behind and protect the people here". We all agreed then. We packed our possessions and made to leave the house. We would have to stay at Urahara's place.

It was a good thing that Yoruichi told me about the underground training area. That would be the perfect place to stay. Not to mention, it's not like it's the first time I've had to sleep on the ground. Me and the ground get along good.

I sat at the window in the room that had been my home for the past two months. I grabbed my cellphone, and dialed my parents phone number. It was 4 in the morning here so it would be about four in the afternoon where my family was, which was perfect. The phone ringed for about thirty seconds and my mom picked up the phone. My mom sounded sleepy, she must have just gotten off of work.

"Hello"? She asked sleepily. I gulped hard.

"Hey mom. It's me". I said in a quiet voice. She sounded happy and confused at the same time.

"Dominique, it's nice to hear from you. So you all are supposed to be heading home any day now. I'm so happy! How's Japan? Wait...isn't it like, really early in the morning over there? I've never known you to wake up before 7. Why are you up now"? She asked in mild confusion as she babbled.

"Mom, I'm sorry, but I won't be coming home for a while". I heard her pause on the other end.

"W-what"? She said quietly. I sighed.

"It's too complicated at the moment to tell you about right now. Don't worry though, I have another way home. I just can't come home now. I have to help save a friend, plus there is this really nice boy I like. This is the last of the contact I can have with you for a while. I love you mom. I swear to tell you everything when I come home. I swear I will come home". She then begged pleadingly with me.

"B-b-but-". I cut her off. I couldn't let her guilt trip me into coming home.

"Goodbye mom I love you, all of you, and always will. Tell dad, Shannon, and Nick that I love them too. Bye". I shut the phone. I then opened it again to turn the power off. I stuck it in my backpack with my other stuff. The other's had been doing the same thing I did, cause they all had the sad, hurt looks on their faces.

We walked down the stairs, I got out my MP3, and put my headphones in my ears. I turned up the volume to the song; Pocket Full of Sunshine, and turned my back on my old home, family, and life, if only temporarily. I looked at the sky, the moon was lopsided but the sky was filled with stars. It was a beautiful sight, but it only brought unshed tears to my eyes.

I quickly blinked them away before they could fall. The others each snuck out the door while Emma used a strong memory kido on the teachers. Soon Emma and I followed the others out into the night. We walked to Urahara's Shop to set up for the next part of our lives.

Me: Yay Dominique finally admited to loving Ichigo. And OH Ichigo loves her too?! This story is way harder to write than my truth or dare story. I love that song, Pocket Full of Sunshine. So until next time. Review please?

The Saltwater Room by Owl City

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND SHIROZANGETSU, HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	7. Training

Me: Hello people! Sup Hsage.

Hsage: (Muffled cries)

Me: Hehe, he's still under the boulder. So funny. Just wait till ultima-owner gives you your dare in my truth or dare story. Hehe.

Terra: Sup. Whatcha doin Jade?

Me: Ack! What the hell are you doing here?! DRMONA!

Terra: She said I couldn't play with her right now so I came to bug you.

Me: NO! I'm in the middle of my new chapter for my first story, so get!

Terra: No way!

Me: Don't make me get my zanpakuto after your ass! Just wait till I get to the truth or dare story. You're **so** gonna get it.

Hsage: (Muffled cries)

Shiva: While Jade deals with the kid, she owns nothing so let's get this show on the road.

**Chapter 7: Training**

Dominique's POV

As we walked to Urahara's Shop we discussed strategies on how we'll deal with the soul reapers when we got into the Soul Society. We unanimously agreed that we would do our best to keep bloodshed from happening. We didn't want to kill anybody. We were just about to enter the store when I saw Yoruichi jump from the roof in front of us. Emma cooed.

"Awwe what a cute kitty cat". She said as she scratched Yoruichi behind her ears. She had a soft spot for animals just like me.

"That's Yoruichi. By the way, Yoruichi, where are you heading to"? I asked the black feline. Here came the funny part.

"I'm heading off to go train Orihime and Chad. I wouldn't mind if some of you decided to join me in their training". My friends deadpanned for a second and then all of them started asking about the talking cat. Yoruichi gave them about as much information that she gave me, which wasn't much. Most of the information I know about her came from common sense and guessing,...and a little bit of snooping on my part.

In the end Jessy, Claire, and Brandon decided to go with Yoruichi so they could help train the others since they were staying behind. Yoruichi led us inside to get our stuff settled down.

We were greeted by Jinta and Ururu. They led us to our rooms. Ichigo and I shared a room. That set off a blush on both of our faces. Emma noticed this and she looked at me questioningly.

I decided that this was a good a time as any to tell her. I all but dragged her down the hall and told her what I'd said to Ichigo. She was practically jumping up and down in excitement. She squealed with happiness

"It's about time you finally fell for someone. I'm so proud of ya"! She said as she bear hugged me. I rolled my eyes as I tried to catch my breath after she released me.

I saw that Emma and Shuan shared a room, Claire, Jessy, and Brandon shared a room, since after tomorrow they would be off to train with Yoruichi. After we all had our stuff put down Urahara called us to the back room. He said that we should go to school for the last day . Then after that the training would begin.

I groaned. I really wasn't in the mood for school. The rest of them looked like their thoughts were in line with mine. I sighed and went to get my uniform on.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

After we got to school, I noticed that nobody asked where Rukia was. The only ones that were acting strange were Uryu, Chad, and Orihime. Ichigo kept staring at me, which would cause me to blush and look away. During lunch he looked at me and we locked eyes. I could feel the blush spreading across my face. His face darkened in color as well.

"Do you want to eat lunch with me, Dominique"? He asked in a quiet voice.

"S-sure Ichigo". I said nervously, which was so out of character for me. We went up to the roof to eat. Surprisingly no one else was there, so we were alone for the moment. I sat against the wall and he sat right beside me. He was so close to me that we were almost touching.

We ate in silence for the most part. He ate an onigiri from a store we passed by this morning and I had a double cheeseburger from WacDonalds. After we finished eating, we just stared at the sky, waiting for the bell to ring for us to go back to class.

We were both tense as hell. Neither one giving an inch or even saying anything. The tingling sensation crept up my arm and spread throughout my whole body even though I wasn't touching him. I kept trying to squash it down. Unsuccessfully, I might add.

I felt something brush against my hand. I looked out the corner of my eyes and saw his hand resting on mine. The blush returned tenfold. I moved my hand, but not away, I moved my hand under his, and I intertwined my fingers with his. When I did this the tingly feeling vanished, but in its place was a full-blown electrical current.

I wasn't even fighting it anymore. I felt like I was touching the electric wire that was used to keep the dogs in the pen at my old house. Only with this, there was no pain, just the feeling of my heart racing and the feeling of wanting to get even closer to him. It was addictive, like chocolate or coffee, and I wanted more.

He turned his head to look at me. I turned mine as well. We were staring at each other's faces and into each other's eyes. His brown eyes staring into my blue ones in such a way that I felt like I was falling.

Before I knew what he was doing, he was leaning his face closer to mine. My own head lifted up of its own accord. His lips met mine, and at first I was so shocked I couldn't react. Then, without my permission to, my lips started to move along with his.

The kiss was electrifying. It felt like I was no longer falling, but flying instead. His lips were surprisingly sweet against my own. He didn't move to deepen the kiss, and neither did I for that matter. Just his lips against my own was enough to send my heart soaring. My eyes closed as I kissed him.

One of his arms wrapped around my waist, his other hand moved to the nape of my neck, and brought me closer to him, to the point where my chest was almost touching his. I wrapped both my arms around his neck and got closer to him still, closing the space between us. My hands tangled themselves in his bright orange hair at the nape of his own neck.

I didn't even notice when the bell rang. I didn't notice much of anything other than Ichigo's lips against mine, his arms wrapped around my body, and the overwhelming feeling of happiness that was coursing through me.

That is, until I heard the laughter coming from a short distance away. I stopped kissing him to see who it was who ruined my happy moment. I turned and saw Emma and the rest of my American friends standing there with different looks on their faces. I saw amusement, shock, and pride coming from my friends. All it did was make my face even redder.

Ichigo stood up and he looked down at me. His face was just as red as mine, but he was actually smiling. I'd never seen him smile for real, and I liked it. He offered me his hand.

I grabbed it and he helped me off the ground. I kept hold of his hand as we walked to class. I didn't even hear the conversations that my friends were having, even though I was certain they were about me.

I was busy sealing the memory of my first kiss away in my head so that I would never forget it. My first kiss...happiness flowed throughout me.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Later on in class, Keigo ran up to me and Ichigo.

"Hey Ichigo, hey Dominique"! Then he saw that both he and I were holding hands. He yelled, "HA! You **do** have a girlfriend"! He seemed to be waiting for a rebuff.

"So what Keigo? Why does it matter to you if Dominique's my girlfriend"? Keigo then started freaking out.

"Dominique, why didn't you want me as your boyfriend"? He asked in a mock hurt tone with comic tears running down his face.

"One reason; you talk too much". That made him go into the emo corner and sulk.

"Finally he shut up". Ichigo said with a smirk to me. I giggled at that.

_'He called me his girlfriend. I'm so happy'!_ Joy was rushing through me. But that was when a serious thought came to mind.

"I wonder why no one has asked about Rukia. I think they can't remember her". His eyes widened a little.

"You may be right about that". I looked up at him encouragingly.

"We will save her. I know you'll get your powers back. I believe in you". He smiled at me again.

"Thank you Dominique". I blushed at that, but I felt that something was off. The feeling wasn't coming from Ichigo and it definitely wasn't from me, I looked around and I saw Orihime sitting at her desk with her face turned to the window. Her eyes had gone blank.

_'Oh shit! I forgot that she liked Ichigo too. Crap! She probably hates me now'._ I'd see if I could talk to her about it later. _'Man! Why is it that every time that I do something that makes me happy, it makes someone else unhappy'?_ I thought sadly to myself.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

After school, we walked to the Urahara Shop together with my friends. Yoruichi was waiting for Jessy, Claire, and Brandon to go gather Chad and Orihime for their upcoming training. When they left, I went to the room I shared with Ichigo to put away my stuff and to dump my body for a while. I then waited in the back room for the rest of them to get ready for the training. I spent my time stretching and thinking of training methods for the next week. Then I remembered Orihime, I face palmed myself.

_'Stupid! I'm such an idiot. I forgot to go talk to Orihime. Damn'. _Shuan, Ichigo, and Emma showed up quickly. All we had to do now was to wait for Urahara. We'd all been sitting around for a while when Urahara finally showed up. Shiva spoke up.

_'Well took him long enough'._ Shirozangetsu then commented.

_'He was probably sleeping. He seems the type to sleep all day'._ I mentally rolled my eyes.

_'Oh so now yall are talking. Yall were sure quiet today. What gives'? _

_'We hadn't ever seen you that happy. Ever. We may be hollows, but you've rubbed off on us some. Besides, the look on your face was just too damn priceless to interrupt'._ Shirozangetsu said superiorly. I sat there mentally fuming and throwing death threats at them until I saw Urahara open a trap door in the floor.

He told us to go down the ladder and wait for the training to begin. I jumped and used shunpo to catch my fall as I stepped lightly onto the ground. All I could see was a crag landscape and for some reason the room looked like it had a sky.

It was weird, but I didn't think much of it. It was a little like the Squad 0 training ground, though the one at the barracks was much better and a whole heck of a lot bigger, not to mention had a whole lot more variety of different landscapes.

Soon Ichigo and Urahara joined us since Ichigo actually had to climb down the ladder. When Ichigo was looking around, Urahara pushed his cane through Ichigo's head and he made Ichigo's soul come out of his body. It was connected to him by a Chain of Fate. He got up and started yelling at Urahara.

"Give me some warning before you do that. ... Why can't I breath right"? Ichigo asked as he clutched his chest.

"When Byakuya Kuchiki stabbed you, he made it so you wouldn't be able to access you're powers. So in other words, you're just another human soul. But in doing so, all he did was remove Rukia's powers from your body and now you'll be able to access your own". Ichigo gave him a blank stare. I'm sure I did too.

_'The only way he could do that is if he was a shadow shinigami'._ I thought to myself. My eyes widened slightly. What if?

"So to get your powers back were gonna do a three step process. Phase one, fight young Ururu here". Urahara said to Ichigo. He indicated to the young depressed looking girl. She had fight padding on that looked like mushrooms.

Ichigo at first refused to fight the girl. I tried to offer to fight him. Urahara shot me down though. He said that Ichigo had to fight Ururu. He threw Ichigo some plain white fight padding. Ururu then rushed at him. She was faster than I first thought. Ichiro tried to dodge her, but got hit in the process. His speed was way down. He was still having trouble breathing apparently.

He was still trying to get the headgear on, but it wouldn't do anything. Urahara then said that to get the protective gear to activate, he had to say this dumb phrase. Ichigo yelled at him no, then he nearly got hit again by Ururu. He then yelled it out.

"Take the power of justice! The armor and headband of justice"! That made most everyone laugh. I was practically rolling on the ground myself. Urahara then laughed behind his fan.

"I can't believe he just did that". Urahara said as he pointed at Ichigo with a smirk on his face.

"HEY, SHUT UP"! Ichigo tried to get the gear around his head again and it finally latched on. Ururu just kept going at him, while he ran like hell. I could tell that she was holding back though. I knew that if she wanted to she could kill him in an instant. She went to hit him and it looked like she was going to collide with his face, but he was able to dodge just in time.

_'So this is what Urahara meant. By pushing Ichigo, we would get his own powers to fully awaken'._ I relized.

Ichigo soon went on the offensive when he saw he was getting faster. He jabbed at Ururu, he ended up cutting her cheek. I saw something go through her eyes that sent disturbed chills down my spine. Without thinking, my body moved, just as Ururu punched Ichigo so hard he was sent flying backwards.

I was able to catch him, but the speed in which he was flying sent me careening towards one of the large boulders. My body hit the boulder with a definite crack. The boulder behind me had a huge crater in it from the impact. I was wincing in pain from the stupid rock jabbing into my back, but I checked to see that Ichigo was alright. I'd had much worse crashes than this.

"Are you alright Dominique"? Ichigo asked in an unneeded worried tone. Through my training, I'd made my body well resistant to pain. Still, getting thrown into a boulder hurt somewhat. It would for anyone. I winced again.

_'Damn rocks. I swear it's just a repeat of me getting thrown into the tree when I first fought Shirozangetsu'._ He looked up at me with a confused look. I gave him a small smile.

"I'm alright. What about you? Are you okay Ichigo"? I asked as I popped my neck to get the crick out of it.

"I'm fine thanks to you. How the hell did you move so fast"?

"I used shunpo. I help teach it to ya when you get your powers back, k"? Urahara then called out happily.

"Well done Ichigo. Lesson one, complete"! Urahara cheered.

"No way. I can still go on". Urahara then said in a serious voice, "Ichigo, Ururu was holding back. She can fight against full-fledged soul reapers. If she would have gone all out on you. You wouldn't have stood a chance. Now, on to lesson two"! Tessai walked over to us and then he cut Ichigo's Chain of Fate in half, and suddenly the ground disappeared underneath my feet.

I reacted just in time to use my shunpo to jump to the edge of the hole. I gave Urahara a dirty look. All he did was hide his face behind that damn fan of his. That fan was ticking me off by the second.

_'Hide it'._ Shiva said encouragingly.

_'Cero it'. _ Shirozangetsu offered. A much better suggestion I might add.

I peered over the edge of the hole to see what was going on. I saw Ichigo sitting in the middle of the hole, rubbing his head. I then saw Tessai, he held his hands together in some kind of hand sign. Then he called out a kido and Ichigo's arms were bound behind his back with some type of material.

_'That's bakudo number 99 part one, Kin'._ I thought to myself. Urahara then spoke to Ichigo.

"Welcome Ichigo, to Shattered Shaft. You have to find a way to get out of here before your Chain of Fate corrodes and you become a hollow. If you do not come out of Shattered Shaft a soul reaper within 72 hours, we will be forced to kill you". Ichigo gave him a blank look for a moment. Then the yelling started. The death threats, and curses were all aimed at Urahara, who just sat there waving his fan at Ichigo like it was all empty air.

_'He's gonna get it one day'._ I thought darkly to myself.

"You better start trying to get out of there". Then Urahara turned to us and said, " You may do as you please until the 72 hours are up. You can spar, train, or just relax for the moment". I went to look at Ichigo again. He looked pissed as hell and he kept trying to run up the wall. I called out to him.

"Good luck Ichigo". He stopped and looked up at me. Then he called back up to me.

"Thanks".

I turned to leave. That's when I heard him scream in pain. I rushed back to the hole to see what was going on. I saw Ichigo's Chain of Fate begin to move and it started to eat itself. Now that was freaky beyond belief. The chain ate a single link and then it stopped. Ichigo stopped screaming, but he was still twitching from the pain. He continued to look up at me. I nodded to him and I left the Shattered shaft. I flew up the ladder and I told my friends what I planned on doing that night.

I planned to fly tonight. I had been itching to spread my wings and feel the wind against my skin. I jumped up onto the roof to wait for nightfall. As the stars came out I stood up. The moon rose into the sky little by little.

It was time.

I let my dark reiatsu flow out and around me, causing my body to go numb for the shortest of moments. When it cleared I was in my half hollow form. I stretched my clawed hands in front of my body leisurly.

I was looking at the blue marking that usually stayed on my back, but they were now wrapped around my arms and legs, ending just at my wrist and ankles. I twitched my wings to see the markings on the back of them too. I rolled my shoulders and I spread my wings. My tail twitched just like a cat's tail would with excitement.

I jumped onto the ground in front of the Urahara Shop. My clawed feet making almost no sound as they landed on the sidewalk. I pulled my mask off my face and put it in my shihakusho. I crouched down and jumped up into the air.

I felt the wind surging under my wings every time I flapped them. I used my tail to keep myself steady in my flight. I twisted and turned, using my body to control the speed and direction of which I flew. I had yet to feel something that felt better than flying this way. Though Ichigo's kiss earlier came pretty damn close.

I then stopped in midair somewhere in the countryside and used my sonido instead of shunpo to stay standing in midair. I moved my clawed hand up and rested it on top of my hollow hole right below my neck. I thought of myself about how I looked in this form and in my full hollow form at that. I didn't even want to think about my vasto lorde form.

It had taken me a full month to get through the training to get to just this form. I had to go through hell from my hollows. I smiled to myself, my black/gold eyes softening at the old memories of me and my hollow bickering all the time, that, and Rose's jokes. Then the question formed itself in my mind.

_'Would Ichigo accept you, knowing who, and what you are'?_

My eyes hardened at the thought. I truthfully didn't know. Then I remembered the kiss again. My skin, now as white as my hollows' skin burned and I knew I probably looked like I just got hit in the face with a box filled with ripe tomatoes. I knew he would accept me. I would just have to tell him at the right time.

If he was a shadow shinigami, he'd find out himself eventually anyway.

I dragged myself out of my thoughts, pulled my mask out of my shihakusho, put it on my face, and changed into my full hollow form in midair. I stretched my long neck out and let loose a roar into the dark sky. I stood on the air with my long legs, the two horns on my head curving upward into a graceful halo. I pumped my wings and flew off into the night.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The sun was just beginning to rise. I was on my way back towards Urahara's. I got there quickly and went to land on the ground in front of his shop. Ururu and Jinta were standing there, with weapons. Jinta had some metal club thing and Ururu had a big bandaged bazooka looking thing. They looked like they were about to attack me.

I summoned my red/black reiatsu, it engulfed me, I changed back to normal, and landed on my feet. They looked at me with shocked looks. I couldn't help but smirk at their expressions.

"Don't worry, Urahara knows already". I walked past them and back into the store. I went down to the trap door to go see how Ichigo was. I had been gone for about 10 hours. I simply jumped down the passage way to get to the training room.

I noticed that Emma and Shuan were sparring off in the distance. They were both in their bankai forms. They were complete opposites, Emma; fire, Shuan; ice. Yet they were perfect for each other. The ice storm swirling around Shuan or the raging inferno surrounding Emma. It was quite the sight.

Emma used her Shinku no Chi en no Arashi, with its flaming ruby daggers hurtling at Shuan, who blocked them with Kuro Kori no Arashi's flying ice daggers. An impressive explosion filled the air. Personally I felt pride whenever I saw them fight. After all, I'd been the one who got them into Squad 0. I turned away from the two sparring lovers and decided to check up on Ichigo.

I saw Urahara sitting by the Shattered Shaft, munching on an apple. I went and sat on the other side of the hole. If he bugged me, I would take that fan and then I would burn it with a cero. Shiva and Shirozangetsu laughed at the very thought since it came complete with a mental image of me doing just that.

For the next day and a half, Ichigo's chain would slowly eat itself. Every time it became active Ichigo would scream in pain and I would have the urge to jump into the hole and comfort him. I would go off and talk to Emma and Shuan. They had a few conversations with my hollows and I used some of the time to practice my skills as well.

Jinta saw me summon my hollow mask. I pulled it to the side and set it on the side of my head. I would grin at him evilly. Let's just say that the combo of my evil smile and my black/gold eyes freaked him out.

_'Good. Teach that boy some respect'._ Jinta would then come down here and he would tease Ichigo saying that if he felt hungry that meant he was getting close to being a hollow. He even got Ururu to play along too. Shuan and Emma soon joined us when it hit the 68 hour mark. Jinta looked like he was gonna bug Ichigo again, but I stopped him by making my eyes turn black and gold.

He backed off. I changed them back and we waited two hours. Jinta had a large platter of food that he was carrying. He jumped down into the shaft before I could stop him. He began to tease Ichigo, saying that time was almost up. Ichigo said that he felt that he couldn't have been in here very long. That he still had a good bit of time before the chain would be gone.

"The last corrosion cycle would be nothing like the others". Jinta said seriously, and with that he jumped out of the shaft.

I leaned over the edge of the shaft just in time to see the final corrosion start. Instead of just one link eating itself, all of the links came to life and were devouring themselves. Ichigo began to scream in pain. This one was much worse than any of the other screams.

It seemed to eat at my very soul. I shivered, but my eyes never left Ichigo. Soon though the chain was completely gone. All that there was left was the hole in his chest; he was about to start the change. Ichigo was quiet for a second and then this white stuff was coming out of his mouth and eyes. It began forming the mask on his face.

His screaming was getting even louder. The reiatsu was so huge that the very ground began to shake. He was struggling against his restraints and then a brace broke in half. Soon all of them broke apart. Tessai began using another kido, from the sound of it; Bankin was the kido he was using.

_'Bankin? I think that's a bit much'._ I thought to myself. He began using the first and second songs; Shiryu, and Hyakurensan.

White bindings came out of nowhere and it wrapped around Ichigo and then a hundred metal bolts stabbed into his body. It looked like Ichigo was just about to become a full hollow. Tessai was just about to use the Bankin Tia-ho. The huge square pillar was dropping towards Ichigo when the shaft lit up and something shot out of it at super high speed. It crashed into the ground and boulders until it came to a stop farther back and away from us.

A cloud of dust filled the area. I stood up to see better. When the dust cleared I saw Ichigo standing there, mostly covered in that white binding. What made my eyes open in shock was the mask on his face. It was just like mine. I whispered in shock.

"How..."? He was a shadow shinigami obviously, but I'd never once seen two shadow shinigami with the same mask before. Emma and Shuan were at my flanks, the same looks were on their faces as the one on mine. Ichigo raised his right hand slowly and he reached for his zanpakuto. I noticed the usual belt that held the sheath of his zanpakuto was gone. In its place was a red chain like band that hung around his torso. Again, just like mine. Shiva was in shock.

_'WTF! Don't tell me he's gonna have the same exact zanpakuto as us too'?_ I mentally scolded her.

_'Shiva Kudo'._

_'Hey, no need to say my full name'._ Shirozangetsu was completely silent; watching what was happening.

_'Behave'._ As we were talking Ichigo had grabbed his zanpakuto hilt. He pulled it out. It was his old zanpakuto, and it was still broken. I felt the tension in the room grow as Ichigo stood there with his broken zanpakuto in his hand. He jerked his hand up and he used the butt of his zanpakuto hilt to break the mask in half on his face. Half of the mask fell to the ground and the rest of it stayed on his face.

"Whew"! Ichigo said in relief as he moved the mask to the side of his face much the same way I had always done with mine.

His eyes were the same chocolate brown that I loved. I decided to look at the spirit ribbons. I saw that mine was red, but had a black tint to it, as all shadow shinigami did from the beginning of time. I found Ichigo's...his was tainted black now. He had a hollow inside of him now, but it was dormant. It would most likely stay dormant for now, but it was still there. Shiva giggled.

_'He'll probably look like Shirozanny here'._ I agreed with her on that, while Shirozangetsu fumed over his pet name that we'd given him to get on his nerves. Ichigo was looking at his hands, as if he didn't believe what had happened. Urahara walked forward.

"Well done Ichigo, lesson 2 cleared! You managed to become a soul reaper"! Ichigo jabbed his zanpakuto hilt forward and repeatedly hit Urahara in the eye.

"Screw you"!

"My eye"! Urahara was on the ground holding his hands to his face, and his fan on his head.

"You should have been praying that I'd never come out of that hole alive. Cause I swore that if I made it out of there, I'd kick your ass"! I could feel the angst just flowing from him in waves. I busted out laughing. Urahara looked up at Ichigo.

"Wow. Well let's take that spirit right on to lesson 3 shall we? There is no time limit. All you have to do is to knock my hat off my head". Ichigo rushed forward and clipped the edge of his had with his broken zanpakuto.

"Bring it on Hat'n Clogs". Urahara drew his blade from his cane and then he began to chase after Ichigo.

For the next few minutes Urahara chased Ichigo around using his blade. Ichigo had most likely thought that Urahara's blade wasn't a zanpakuto. He found out the hard way that it was. He was cut at his shoulder with it. Urahara called out his zanpakuto's name; Benihime. Soon he had nearly destroyed Ichigo's broken zanpakuto completely, only leaving the hilt.

Ichigo started running away. Then I felt something go through me. Like a pulse of energy. It was strange, but familiar at the same time. I knew I was too far away to hear what Ichigo was saying, but then I saw a man in black appear in front of Ichigo.

_'Is that his zanpakuto spirit? But wait, only the wielders can see the zanpakuto spirits unless they use the move to forcibly externalize them. Who is that'?_ I had yet to summon my Zangetsu, I didn't even know what Zangetsu looked like. I was the only shadow shinigami in Squad 0 that was not able to communicate with my zanpakuto, even though I had achieved both shikai and bankai.

I watched as Ichigo saw the old man and called out. It was so strange, like I was hearing the conversation in my head, but at the same time outside of my head.

"Old man"! Then I heard the blade's voice.

"Why do you run Ichigo"? The man's voice was deep and wise sounding. He continued, "You still haven't called me yet. Face forward Ichigo. You should be able to hear it now. Even my other wielder, who has never heard my voice knows my name". Wait, other wielder?

_'What's going on here'?_ I was frozen where I stood.

"What's plugging your ears is only fear". Ichigo stopped dead in his tracks. I for some reason, felt power flow through me. The man continued to speak, "There is only one enemy and one of you. What is there to fear? Retreat and you will age. Be afraid and you will die! SHOUT MY NAME"! I knew his name, it could only be...-

"ZANGETSU"! Ichigo swung his broken zanpakuto hilt around and a bright light filled my sight. When the smoke cleared Ichigo was left crouching towards the ground with his Zangetsu embedded into the ground. I closed my eyes.

_'We have the same blade. That was Zangetsu. No wonder I could track his reiatsu with such ease at first. I didn't notice it until now, but his reiatsu is incredibly similar to mine. That man...was our Zangetsu, our zanpakuto'._ I opened my eyes again to watch what would happen.

Ichigo talked to Urahara for a moment and then he raised his arm. I felt his energy flow into the blade as his eyes turned a startling shade of silvery blue. I shunpoed out of range just in time to see Ichigo let loose a huge Getsugatensho. A blinding flash of light filled the area.

When the dust cleared I saw Ichigo, leaning against Zangetsu, fast asleep from reiatsu consumption. I also noticed Urahara's hat floating down from the sky. It was ruined.

_'Ha! Now that's funny'._ I laughed out. Urahara looked at Ichigo's sleeping form.

"Lesson 3 cleared, man that kid's scary. He killed my hat". He was pouting as he put the ruined hat back on his head. I could still see the hint of a smile on his face.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

For the next few days everyone took turns sparring with Ichigo. When my turn came along, I taught him some different techniques that I used with my Zangetsu. Soon the time was gone. I could tell that he had grown much stronger than he had been.

Urahara had stopped training Ichigo for the past four days and he told us that for the next three days, we would have to rest and recuperate for the journey to the Soul Society.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Come on Ichigo! We're gonna miss the fireworks". I grabbed Ichigo's arm and I was trying to drag him over towards the crowd of people. He laughed as I dragged him along excitedly.

I was wearing a summer dress with flip-flops and Ichigo was wearing a Nice Vibe t-shirt with a pair of blue jeans, while the rest of his family were wearing old fashioned kimonos.

We got there just in time for the show to start. The sky was lit up in all sorts of colors. I felt Ichigo's arm wrap around my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around his waist while leaning my head against his shoulder. He leaned his head down and we kissed for the second time. It was even better than the first.

We had to break the kiss cause Emma started poking me in my side. I sighed and growled at her under my breath. The look on her face told me that she heard it. She quickly moved out of reach as I glared at her. I leaned against Ichigo and we watched the rest of the fireworks show.

It didn't matter to me that we would be risking our lives in just a matter of days. I didn't really have to worry about myself, but we were having to take more people. I was worried about them, but I knew we would come out of this victorious. He tightened his arms around me and I felt content as I stared up into the brightly lit sky.

Me: So how was it Hsage?

.

.

.

Me: Wait. Where'd he go?

Terra: Dunno.

Me: Didn't I tell you to get out of here already?

Terra: Yah, but I'm bored.

Me: Go bug Aizen or something.

Terra: I would, but he died again. He ticked me off so I killed him. You go fix'em again.

Me: (Sigh) Oh well. To everyone out there. R&R please. I wanna hear how I'm doing.

Dark Side by Kelly Clarkson

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND SHIROZANGETSU, HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	8. Lost Memories and the Soul Society

Me: I'm just gonna get to the chase and say this, I own nothing but my character Dominique, Shiva and the other OCs. My friend drmona lord owns Kyle though, who will be introduced later in the story. And plus Bree will be returning but later on as well. Though some of her storyline comes into play here in this chapter. Sorry it took so friggin long to update I had gotten grounded and that meant no computer. Oh well... ACTION!

**Chapter 8: Lost Memories and the Soul Society**

Dominique's POV

I was sitting in the room Urahara had given me. Ichigo had gone home to rest for a little while before we left tonight and according to the clock, I had about thirty minutes or so until he got here. I turned on my phone to see how many times my mom and or dad texted me. I saw over two dozen text. I sighed and began to read them.

With each text I could tell that they were getting more and more frantic. At first they thought that I had been playing a mean joke, but when the teachers had gone back home and I wasn't on the plane they started to freak out. They were begging me to come home. I sighed again and I answered them both in one simple text.

I told them that I would come home after everything was settled here and I would come home safe and sound. I promised to tell them everything when I would see them again. I pressed send and began to sing Meteor Shower by Owl City in English to calm my nerves.

_I can finally see, that you're right there beside me~_

_I am not my own, for I have been made new~_

_Please don't let me go, I desperately need you~_

_..._

_I am not my own, for I have been made new~_

_Please don't let me go, I desperately need you~_

I felt the stress leave my body as the familiar song filled my mind. I then tensed up when I felt a presense near me. I heard someone speak at the door.

"What song was that Dominique? I couldn't understand it. It sounded sweet though". I jumped, sweat dropped, and deadpanned all at the same time. Ichigo had been listening to me sing. I turned to him with my face going ten shades of red. I usually didn't sing in front of people. I stutter when I know people are watching and listening. I answered him anyway, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"That song was Meteor Shower. It was made by Owl City. I was singing in English. I haven't spoken any English in so long,...I just decided to sing. Plus singing cheers me up. If you want, I can sing it in Japanese for you". Okay, I so didn't know where that came from.

"I'd like that". He came and sat down beside me. I thought that I would have my usual nervous butterflies that would make me stutter when I sing in front of someone, but the words flowed out of my mouth as easily as if I was alone. The sounds of the song surrounding us like a soft hug. He smiled at me.

"That was beautiful. Why don't you sing more often"? A small smile stood out on his face.

"Well usually when I see people are watching me I start to stutter". I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment. "I guess I feel different around you so...". Then I heard the door open and Urahara stepped in, he had a real serious look to his face.

"Dominique, I'd like to speak with you for a moment, alone". I nodded at him and Urahara shut the door again. I got up and kissed Ichigo on his lips,

_'Let him think about that till I get back'._ I walked out after Urahara, leaving a very red faced Ichigo sitting in a daze. I followed him into the back room and we sat down at the table.

"Dominique, do you know where your friend Bree is"? I looked at him questioningly.

"Who? I don't know anyone who goes by that name". He nodded to himself.

"You had six friends when you first came to Japan. One of them went missing the day you got here. Her name was Bree, and she is now a hollified soul eater, a very powerful one at that". I looked at him like he was lying. I rummaged through my memories and I found nothing of a girl in my past who was a soul eater, who was also my friend.

'_Shirozangetsu, Shiv__a, go through all my memories and see if there is someone by that description'_. They went to the memory tree to find out what there was. They came back with nothing.

"Urahara, I have no memory of someone like that". I admitted in confusion.

"I figured that was the case. Dominique, you and your friends memories of her have been sealed away. That is why you do not remember her". I was skeptical.

"Well then, how do you know her"? I asked. He fidgeted.

"I was the one who found her after she was transported back in time". He then explained to me that the girl, Bree, had appeared in front of him when he was younger, around one hundred years ago. He was out on a usual mission in the human world to purify hollows and preform konsos.

Urahara's POV

_Flashback_

I had felt the presence of a hollow and so I went to investigate. I found a young girl fighting a large hollow. She had the reiatsu of a hollow herself, but she was appeared as a human. Her eyes had were the only thing that gave her away.

They were a deep gold, they had no pupils, and the area around the irises that were usually white, were pure black. She seemed to be having trouble fighting. She looked like that she was going to get killed, so I jumped in and I destroyed the hollow with my Benehime. She looked at me when the hollow had disappeared and her eyes changed back to a normal looking emerald green color.

Then she passed out on the ground. I picked her up carefully and jumped up into the air. I carried her to a place I knew she would be safe and she would recover. When she woke up she told me that she and her six friends had come to Japan on a school trip. I didn't know what she was talking about, she told me things about planes, field trips, and many other things that I didn't know about.

When her and her friends were out exploring in a local park she heard something in her head. The voice had sounded childlike and she could feel the fright coming from the few words the voice spoke to her.

'_It's coming. Run. Power'._ Was what the voice said.

Then all of a sudden, a hollow came out of a rift. The feeling of fear had increased to the point where she was frozen in shock. As she had watched her friends fight the hollow something stirred inside of her soul. Whatever changed in her made the hollow come at her.

She had instinctively put her hands up and then suddenly a bright green light came from the palms of her hands. At first she was so shocked that she couldn't move. The hollow stood frozen in place in front of her.

All to quickly though she could feel her power slipping. Soon she felt totally drained and then she heard the voice in her head again.

_'Help you'._ Then everything turned black. The next thing she knew was she was laying down and being stared at by me. I looked at her and started to laugh. I wasn't trying to be rude, but the whole situation both confused and amused me. I told her my name and she told me hers.

She was an alright kid. I took care of her until it was time for me to return back to the Soul Society. Plus she seemed nice and she had a sense of humor, Yoruichi would like to meet her.

_End flashback_

Dominique's POV

I looked at him like he was crazy. I mean, what a weird story.

"You've got to be kidding me. Is this some sort of joke"? I felt a cat jump on my head, it was Yoruichi of course.

"It is most certainly not a joke. I've had the pleasure to meet the girl myself. She told us many things of when you and your friends were younger. She told me the first time you met was when you were in the fifth grade. That was the same time as when you received your powers, wasn't it"?

"Yah, it was. That was the time I first met Shirozangetsu. I still don't remember anything about this girl though". I said.

"That's quite understandable. Now before you go back to your room, I have something to show and to give you". She jumped off my head and she headed for one of the other rooms. I followed Yoruichi into another room off the hallway. It was another simple room, but in the middle of it was a small heap off cat pillows, so I was guessing this was Yoruichi's room. There was also several pieces of clothing by the looks of it right beside the pile of pillows.

"What's this"? I asked.

"I have some items to give to you and your two friends who are going to the Soul Society with us tomorrow. What I have here is a shozoku uniform top as well as arm and leg paddings. The padding has special weights in them that act as a flexible armor. They are used primarily in hand to hand combat. Are you good at hakuda"? She asked.

"Well yah, sure. Me and Shuan practice hakuda all the time. I'm pretty good, but I'm much better at zanjutsu". I scratched the back of my head.

"Well then, try it on". I nodded and made sure the door was shut all the way before leaving my body. I took my shihakusho top off and put the shozoku top on over the gi that covered my chest. The gi itself was almost exactly like the shozoku top, except that it was tighter and was only one layer.

The top covered my front and it went around my neck, but my back was left bare. My hair was tied up so Yoruichi got a good look at the sapphire dragon mark on my back. She said, "What is that mark on your back"?

"I can't remember the name exactly of what it is. It's been there ever since I learned how to turn into a full hollow at will. It spreads out when I changed, with each change it gets bigger, then when I change back it returns back to its normal look and size. It's there even when I'm in my body". I took another look at the outfit, there were no sleeves and now I saw why the pads were usually needed while wearing this outfit, so I put those on as well. I put the leg pads on next under my hakama.

"You sport it well. You may keep it. Just wear your normal shihakusho on top of it". She was still looking at the mark on my back. Heck I couldn't blame her, it looked like a winged serpent was flying on my back. That would attract major attention.

I nodded and got back into my body. I told both her and Urahara goodnight. Yoruichi would get Emma's and Shuan's stuff later. I went to my room and found Ichigo sifting through my MP3 music files, with a confused and frustrated look to his face. It was probably from all the English.

His back was turned to the door and he seemed not to notice my entrance. I quietly walked up beside him and sat down. I could hear a song blaring in his ears. It happened to be one of my favorites, it was Forgotten by Linkin Park. I giggled and pulled one of the ear plugs out of his ears and whispered into it.

"You could have asked me to help ya know". He jumped slightly and his face turned red from embarrassment. I walked around him and sat in his lap. His face turned an even darker shade of red. I put one of the headphones in my ear while he had the other one. I then sang some of my favorite songs to him in translated Japanese. I swear, the language of Japanese is so much prettier than English.

His arms had wrapped around me and I could feel his hands resting on my sides gently. They would move softly against me, but then he would stop and tense up. I noticed that his arm was resting against mine so I used my mind link ability to listen to his thoughts. I made sure though that he wouldn't be able to listen to my own thoughts. I immediately heard him thinking to himself.

_'She's so beautiful. I can't help it, but I want her. She might hate me for it though, she'd probably think I'm some sort of pervert. I don't want to lose her. Ugh, so unfair, she's sitting in my lap singing to me. She feels so warm. Ugh, my mind is in the gutter'._ I even saw some of his mental pictures.

Hmm...they actually weren't too far away from my own fantasies. Grrr...teenage hormones. I decided he suffered enough so I jumped in.

_'So what if your mind is in the gutter, it's gotta live somewhere, right'?_ I chuckled at my cousin's old joke while his whole body locked down, hell, mine did too when I first had a mental link with Emma. She had wanted to see if I was able to do it after she learned it in kido class with Shaun. With enough practice I was able to get it down. Still, It always felt weird talking to someone mentally for the first time. Ichgio though was in total shock and his mind was totally blank.

_'Yo, can't have a conversation if you don't think ya know. I know this is weird, but after a while you get used to it. Heck, you might be able to do this too after you go through the training. Now since I heard everything earlier, why do you think I would hate you for touching me'? _ He tried to speak with his mouth. but I put one finger up to his lips to keep him silent. I then thought, _'Not with your mouth, with your head. Now will you please answer my question'? _

_'Weird is right. I love you, and the thing is ever since we shared that first kiss I've been wanting to touch you. When I watched you spar with your friends, I get stunned at how you take the whole fight without losing your cool. I can even tell that you're stronger than me. When you were singing I got lost in the lul of your voice. Your body looks so inviting, but I would never take advantage of you like that'._ I felt so happy at that.

He was the first guy to ever compliment me like that and actually mean it without trying to mock me. He was also a gentleman who would wait until I was ready for anything. It made something in my heart just swell in happiness.

_'I love you too Ichigo. And I wouldn't mind if you touched me. In fact...I want you to'._ I paused after that and a blush spread over my face. Well that just blurted out. Way to go Dominique, ugh, you are so pathetic. But in truth I did want him to touch me. I'd never had a boyfriend before and all these feelings were so new to me.

I was frustrated at myself for sounding like a pervert. It was supposed to be the guy's job to be perverted, not the girl's. Only in Japan I guess.

Shiva and Shirozangetsu were thankfully quiet so he didn't even know that they were there. In fact they actually left to go see if any hollows would show up so they could get a snack before tomorrow. He turned off my MP3 and he put it to the side. He leaned his face to me and whispered in my ear.

"I love you Dominique. I will love you for the rest of my life, you are the only one I want". A shiver ran up my spine. His hands were on my face, and they slid down my neck and his arms wrapped around my sides gently. I mewled in delight. Okay, a totally random thought popped in my head, without really thinking about it I wrapped my arms around his neck and I licked his neck all the way up to his jawline. He moaned at my action and my ego grew a little from that I could actually make him moan.

His mouth was on mine then, but he made his way down to my neck and he kissed my neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps as he went. I moaned quietly when he hit a sensitive spot. He smiled into my skin and he sucked on that spot, making me moan in pleasure. He then bit down on the spot gently and I dug my nails into the back of his neck as I gasped.

I then heard a giggle at the door which sobered me up very quickly. I opened a mental link with Ichigo so the people who were spying on us couldn't hear.

_'Be quiet for a minute, I think I heard something at the door. I think we have an unwanted audience. Be right back'._ I crouched down, releasing his neck from my hands, and crawled, ninja style, to the door silently. I stood strait as I opened up the door in one quick movement and saw Urahara, Emma, and Shuan with their ears pressed against the door. Which they fell forward after I opened it. The three of them crashed to the floor at my feet.

Each of them looked up at me with wide eyes, Emma and Shuan were at least trying to get up as embarrassed rage filled me. It heated my cheeks and I knew my eyes turned silver at their intrusion. I raised my fist and snarled at the three peeping toms.

"EMMMMMAAAAA, SSSSSSHHUUUUUAAAAAANNNNNN, URRRRRRAAAAAHHHHHAAAAARRRRRRAAAAAAAAAA"! I yelled at the top of my lungs. I let out a good bit of my reiatsu to tell them I meant business, the area around my body seemed to shimmer with the strength of it. Let's just say that they ran as quickly as they could. Yoruichi was sitting on the table with a piece of sushi in her mouth, she wasn't even phased by the reiatsu increase in the air.

"Nice work. I thought that they should have had the sense to keep their noses out of other people's business. Though I was enjoying the show as well". She twitched her feline ears for emphasis. "You can't help Urahara, he's always been like that, and he will always be like that. Sorry". I sighed as the anger fizzled out, then I giggled at their foolishness, because now I would get them back, and went back to my room.

I shut the door quietly behind me, while Ichigo looked at me with humored eyes. I laid down beside him and he wrapped his arms around me. I snuggled closer to him to wait out the time until our departure.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

We all were standing in front of a huge stone archway. It looked like a paper mache doorway even though it was a make-shift Senkaimon.

"This is the Senkaimon. This is the path to the Soul Society". Urahara said.

_'No shit idiot'._ I thought as I sweat dropped. Yoruichi was standing on Emma's shoulder and said that we would have to run at high speed just to make it to the other side.

We all nodded at this. Uryu, Chad, and Orihime were standing with us. Uryu was wearing some gay-ass costume; I was fighting the urge to laugh out loud at him. I had my long hair tied up in a ponytail with a silver, white, and black colored ribbon tied to it. I didn't put a bow in it so the ends hung down to my waist through my hair. That, along with my other new additions to my outfit, what with the shozoku top and leg/arm braces. But those were hidden by my shihakusho and hakama.

I actually looked ready to fight, compared to Uryu, Chad, and Orihime that is. Orihime was in a t-shirt and yoga pants for pete's sake, and Chad was in a muscle shirt and normal pants. Shesh ... humans. Urahara warned us about the dangers of the Dangai, then he and Tessai charged up the Senkaimon and then a bright light engulfed us all. I charged forward.

The next thing I knew was that I was running beside everyone down a long dark tunnel. There was purple gunk flowing out of the walls, the restrictive current. Thankfully the floor was clear so there were no places to get your feet stuck in. Yoruichi led the pack through the tunnel with Ichigo behind her, me in the center with Emma and Shuan at my flanks, and finally Orihime, Chad and Uryu bringing up the rear of the group.

Soon I heard surprised scream; I looked back and saw Uryu stuck in the wall. His stupid white cape (Who the hell wears capes any freak'n more?!) had gotten stuck in the restrictive current. I sweat dropped at first at his stupidity. I nearly went back to get him when Chad ripped his cape off of him and picked him up. We then continued to run.

_'Ha, that'll teach'em. If ya gonna come prepared for a fight then at least dress appropriately'._ I thought snidely to myself as I sweat dropped.

I heard a huge rumbling noise. I looked back to see a fucking huge ass thing coming at us. I yelled.

"YORUICHI"! She looked back and saw the huge thing coming at us. She cussed.

"That's the cleaner! It cleans the Dangai every seven days. Our rotten luck that it had to be today. Do not use any of your powers what-so-ever. If you do then we'll all be dead for sure. Just keep running"! Shit, I'd heard about the cleaner. It was the master of the Dangai and if one of us got hit by that thing, we were done for.

We ran and ran, yet we didn't seem to get any further towards the light at the end of the tunnel. The cleaner was gaining on us. It was just about to take Chad and Uryu; who was still on his shoulder.

Then Orihime stopped and turned towards the cleaner. I managed to turn around in time to see what she was doing.

"Santenkeshun, I reject"! Her hair pins glowed and then three lights came from them. They created a large triangular shield in front of her. The cleaner hit the shield and then we were all sent flying towards the end of the tunnel. The next thing I saw was everyone free falling in the air at high speed.

I saw a dirt road and houses on the ground. I was able to twist my body around and land on my feet. Emma, Shuan, and Yoruichi did the same and landed on their feet as well. Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, and Uryu weren't so lucky though. Ichigo landed on his stomach and Orihime landed on top of him. Chad landed on his butt, while Uryu did a lawn chair position (For those who don't know, it's when you end up kissing your knees, or the worse one, genitalia XD).

Orihime at first didn't realize that she was on top of Ichigo until he had nearly passed out from lack of air. Yoruichi was pissed. She went to scratch Orihime and I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. I quickly put her back on the ground.

"Yoruichi, don't get mad at her. If it hadn't have been for her we all would have been dead". Yoruichi huffed and started to lecture her about how irresponsible using her powers like that was. I took this time to look around. I then said, "Yoruichi, why aren't there people around? Shouldn't this place be packed"? Yoruichi looked at me.

"This is the Rukongai. And yes there should be people about. They must be hiding from us. They probably think that we're the enemy here". It seemed plausible. I mean, this was my first visit to the Soul Society, I had to say, I was a bit disappointed.

"Where would we find Rukia"? Emma asked. Yoruichi pointed to the opposite way that we were facing. What we saw was completely different from the houses and street that we were just looking at. Everything seemed to be made of stone. It was all white and pristine. The place of snooty nobles and soul reapers.

"Yoruichi, is that the Seireitei"? Shuan asked. Both Emma and him were also first time visitors to the Soul Society as me. She nodded.

"That is the place that they are holding Rukia". Yoruichi said. Ichigo ran right towards it and I couldn't help myself, so I ran after him as well. It seemed like the thing to do.

Then out of nowhere, a huge white wall fell and landed on the ground with a huge crash. Then I saw a huge man who looked more like a giant monkey standing in front of Ichigo and myself. I watched as Ichigo ran up and charged him. The dude had been in the middle of telling his name.

"You have no manners. You should let someone finish speaking before you attack". Ichigo just brushed it off. Then the monkey dude said that his name was Jidanbo. He was apparently the gatekeeper. He pulled a large axe from his sleeve and then he landed an attack on the ground. I jumped up to avoid the flying debris. Ichigo went off to the side.

Orihime and the others tried to get past the barrier of rubble, but Ichigo yelled.

"Stay back guys. We got this". I turned to him and smirked.

"You mean I got this. I wanna have the first battle in the Soul Society". I said as I stepped forward. Ichigo nodded and stepped back.

"Ho ho ho! So the boy actually has some manners to let the lady go first. Very well, what is your name"? I smiled up at my opponent. Besides my fellow squad members, I rarely had any civilized fighting.

"The name's Dominique Kudo". I said with a grin. He did a bow to me and laughed once.

"Well, it's been a while since anyone tried to crash the Seiriemon. I'm sorry to say this, but you don't look like you're very strong". I smirked evilly.

"Well then. I'll let you have the first go and I'll even give you a bonus; I won't even use my zanpakuto in this fight". I said as I tossed my sword to Ichigo, who caught it with a surprised look on his face.

"You have guts, but you will see that you need more than that to defeat my axe". He said as he swung his huge axe at me, which seemed to move so slow that it was not even rookie level. I quickly filled my arms with my reiatsu and blocked his axe with my left hand. Dust surrounded me as the force behind his blow shook the ground. He was strong, but lacked the speed.

Normally I would hate for my vision to be compromised and for my lack of sight to make me vulnerable to attack, but this guy was weak, and so I didn't really have to watch my back. The dust soon cleared and Jidanbo was greeted by the sight of me smirking while holding his axe with my bare hand that was charged with my reiatsu.

"Now what were you saying? Oh yeah, something about me not looking all that strong right? Well as the old saying goes; 'Don't judge a book by its cover'." I said as I pushed his axe back towards him. He looked at me for a moment before busting out into laughter.

"Not bad! It's been decades since anyone has been able to block my axe. You're only the third person to deflect my axe, but no one has ever been able to block my second strike"! He yelled as he went for his second hit. This time I blocked it with my right hand. The dust soon cleared and I spoke up again.

"Is that all you got"? I asked.

"Ha! Good! You're still standing! But there's more! Juppon Jidanda Matsuri"! I quickly covered my body in a strong layer of reiatsu and pulled up my sleeves as he began attacking.

"Bring it"! I called just before the first strike landed.

"ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! SEVEN! EIGHT! Umm... SIX! EIGHT! Time to finish up TEN"! He yelled as he slashed down with his axe. When the dust cleared, it showed me still blocking his axe with my bare arms. I looked up and smirked at him.

"Well? Not bad I have to say, but nowhere near **my** level". I said. He was flabbergasted.

"Wh-why? How in the world are you still standing? You're not even scratched"! He asked in shock. He moved his axe away from me and took a step back.

"Are you done? Well then, it's my turn". I said as I cracked my knuckles and started walking towards him. I analyzed all of his weak spots and prepared to attack with a punch to the gut. He backed away.

"Not yet! I have another move"! I rolled my eyes as he pulled a second axe from his shihakusho.

_'It won't work though'._ I thought to myself. He raised his axes and prepared to strike.

"Here it goes! My final move! Banzai Jidanda Matsuri". I shook my head and stepped forward.

"Sorry, but that's not going to work". I said as he brought his axes down. I did a flip and used my feet to shatter his axes in one strike. As I returned to my feet he looked at his axes he began to cry. I could literally feel the awkwardness in the air. I stepped towards him and put my hand gently on his arm as he blubbered.

"My...axes...sob". He cried. I sighed and decided that I might as well apologize.

"I'm sorry Jidanbo. I guess I got a little carried away". I said as I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment. I looked back at the others for support and saw that Emma and Shuan were on their asses laughing. Ichigo, Uryu, Orihime, and Chad were sweat dropping. Yoruichi expression was unreadable.

_'So no help there. Man, why'd I have to get the blubbering monkey guy'._ I thought to myself. Jidanbo looked up at me with tears and boogers running down his face. I resisted the urge to back away. Yuck.

"You're a nice person. Even though we're enemies you still feel sorry for me. You have a kind heart. In the three hundred years I've been gatekeeper, I've never been defeated. You're the first person to beat me. You can pass! Jidanbo authorizes you to pass through the White Road Gate"! I smiled at him as he stood back up and smiled at me.

_'So not how I would have imagined my first fight here to be, but it was definitely funny'._ I thought to myself with a laugh. Orihime stepped forward past the rock barrier. I noticed that Uryu had a bump on his head, he must have been hit with a piece of flying debris. I snickered silently.

"Can we pass too"? She asked. Jidanbo laughed.

"Sure. You're leader beat me, so you all can pass". He said as he looked at the gate. Uryu stepped forward.

"What!? She is not our leader". Ichigo, who was beside him, spoke up.

"What are you getting so mad about". Emma and Shuan were bending over in a fit of giggles. I looked at Jidanbo and smiled at my new friend. Who would have thought I'd make a quick friend with a giant soul reaper? Today's just full of surprises. Then Jidanbo turned from us and lifted the gate with his arms. Man that thing had to weigh a ton at least. I don't even think my full hollow form would be able to lift that.

When the gate was open halfway, I saw a man with silver hair in a bowl cut style, slit eyes, and a smiling mouth that reminded me instantly of a fox. Then I thought differently because foxes were beautiful and this guy was giving me the fucking creeps. He had a powerful reiatsu. It actually sent chills down my spine, he had a normal soul reaper outfit but he had a white coat over it, cut at the shoulders; a captain's hiori. He didn't seem like a normal soul reaper though.

"Retreat! That's Gin Ichimaru, the captain of Squad 3", Yoruichi called out. Gin said something to Jidanbo and then in a flash Jidanbo's arm was cut open and blood splattered on the ground, his arm soon followed the blood; completely severed. He fell to his knees, though he continued to hold up the gate with one arm. Ichigo tried to attack Gin before I could stop him.

"Shoot'em dead, Shinso". Gin said as his zanpakuto elongated and shot out at Ichigo. Ichigo was just able to bring his Zangetsu up in time to block the attack, but it sent him and Jidanbo flying backwards. Just as the gate was about to close, Gin leaned down and said, "Bye bye now". I don't know why, but it made a tic mark appear on my head.

I turned and rushed to Ichigo to see if he and Jidanbo were alright. I looked down and saw Ichgio with comic swirly eyes on his face, but at least he wasn't hurt. Jidanbo though was a totally different story. If he wasn't healed quickly, he would lose his arm permanently. I sensed people behind us and saw that people were coming out of the shacks. They came up to us and then they started talking with Yoruichi.

_'I see. She must be quite well known around here. She must have connections everywhere in the Soul Society. Nice'._ Orihime displayed her powers by healing Jidanbo and then we stayed the night at the village elder's house.

That night, some dude riding a boar started to fight with Ichigo. He told us that his name was Ganju and that he was the self-proclaimed Deep Red Bullet of the West Rukongai.

I landed a good knock on both of their heads to get them to stop fighting. Then all of a sudden the weird dude ran off when it turned nine-o-clock. Ichigo was ticked, but when I gave him a warning look he stopped resisting. I got him inside with the others and we went to bed for the night. Yoruichi told me that she would take us to meet a friend of hers in the Rukongai.

The person's name was Kukaku Shiba.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Yo, Yoruichi, are we there yet"? I asked, bored out of my mind. We had been walking for several hours through the countryside. We would have gone much faster if she would have just jumped on my shoulder and let me use shunpo instead.

"We'll be there momentarily". She said with a twitch of her tail. When we did get there, I was in shock at the freaky building that was in front of us. I deadpanned at the sight of the gigantic arms that were holding up a huge sign. Two body guard looking guys stopped us before we got to the house though, but when they saw Yoruichi they led us right in. After we got to the underground area we sat and waited at a door for permission to enter.

Finally we were allowed access and when we got in there we saw Kukaku Shiba sitting on the floor; drinking sake. Uryu, Ichigo, and Orihime started to freak out cause they had thought that Kukaku had been a man or in Orihime's case something other (weird much).

This was the person who would get us into the Seireitei. Yoruichi asked her if she would assist us in getting into the Seireitei. Kukaku agreed to help us, but she ended up sending an overseer with us. When she opened the door, the person on the other side turned out to be Ganju.

_'That idiot'?_ I thought to myself; remembering what happened the night before. I face palmed myself, because I knew what was coming.

"This is my annoying kid brother, Ganju Shiba". Then when he and Ichigo locked eyes they started fighting. I sighed at their testosterone fueled behavior. I stood up, grabbed Ichigo by the back of his shihakusho, and dragged him away, but not before giving him a Gibb's Slap on the back of the head. (If you watch the show NCIS, you know what this is XD)

I noticed that Ganju was about to follow me, but Kukaku stopped him with a hit to the head. Kukaku looked at me with a smirk on her face.

"I like you kid. What's your name"? She asked me.

"Dominique Kudo". I answered with a smirk of my own.

"Good, now everyone follow me". Kukaku led us out the room and she led us to another room that was completely dark and there was a large tower in the center of it. I was confused.

"How's this thing going to get us into the Seireitei"? Emma asked as she looked around curiously.

"Don't worry. I'll get you into the Seireitei, or my names not Kukaku Shiba; Rukongai's premier fireworks expert"! She said with an evil glint in her eye. I had a bad feeling about this.

_'You don't think-'?_ I mentally worried to myself.

"Koganehiko, Shiroganehiko, hoist it"! The ground shook and after a few moments the roof opened up, leading up above ground. She looked at us and grinned. I also stood tall and still.

_'Showoff'._ Shiva commented.

"Did that scare you?! This is Kukaku Shiba's exclusive fireworks launch pad"! Ganju then jumped up and interrupted her.

"The Flower Crane Cannon"! She then hit him on his head with her foot.

"Who said you could get on the pedestal"?! He fell backwards.

"Sorry"! Uryu then stepped forward and had an irritated look on his face.

"This is no time for jokes! I don't care if you're the fireworks wizard! There is no way you're going to launch us in that! We'd be killed for sure-"!? He is interrupted by Kukaku throwing something, and it hit him directly in the face. It bounced up and I caught it, and Uryu's on the ground with his face is smoking. I giggle at the hilarity.

I then looked down at the thrown item. It's a clear ball that has a red phoenix-like figure in it. I held it up.

"What's this thing"? I asked. I felt like it had a small amount of energy in it, but it was unstable, and ready to absorb more.

"It's a Reishukaku spirit core. You fill it with reiatsu from your palms". I nodded, understanding. Ichigo, who was standing beside me, looked at her in confusion.

"Uh...how's that again"? He asked. I sweat dropped. She looked at him like he was stupid.

"Obviously, just do what you do when you cast a spell". She explained and demonstrated with a burst of energy from her arm. I once again sweat dropped.

_'Perhaps I should have taught him how to cast a kido or two before we left'._ I thought to myself as I looked away. Yoruichi stepped forward.

"Actually he can't do spells". She explained. Kukaku looked at Yoruichi in shock before grimacing.

"Fine. Ganju, show him how it's done". She said. Ganju came at me, and I came up with a funny idea.

"Give it to me"! He said as I lifted the ball up high and out of his reach. Then he jumped up and I twirled out of his way. He looked like a kitten trying to get a toy. It was hilarious.

"Hehe". I giggled.

"Oh so you want to play huh"? He asked me with a glare. I smirked devilishly.

"Sure. Come and get it. Meow". I taunted by wiggling the ball out in front of me. He dived for it, but I filled it with energy at the last moment, he smacked right into it, sending him flying back onto his ass.

"Ugh". He moaned from his place on the ground. I grinned at him before turning to Ichigo.

"What the"?! Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, and Orihime all said with shocked tones. I grinned at my fellow shadow shinigami. This was a simple, but useful little device.

"Nice work Dominique. First time"? Kukaku asked as she looked at my handy work. I shook my head.

"No. Where I come from, this is simple energy manipulation. Baby stuff". I admitted half truthfully. She smirked and then began to describe the barrier around the Seireitei and how we would use the cannon to get us inside. During all of this, I kept the cannonball up for the demonstration. I had to be careful and make sure not to let too much energy out, or the ball would grow huge in seconds. Kukaku soon finished her lecture and I let the cannonball dissipate.

"Well That's all! Any questions"? She asked. An awkward silence filled the air.

_'They're scared'._ Shirozangetsu snickered.

"Good! Then you're all dismissed! Go to the dojo and start practicing! "Koganehiko! Shiroganehiko! Escort them"! They picked up Orihime, Uryu, and Ichigo and left to take them to the dojo. I smirked that they left Emma, Shuan, Chad, and myself here.

"Hehe". Emma giggled as she watched them head off the platform.

"You'd better train hard! If any one of you loses focus, it's BOOM"! Kukaku yelled as they went inside. I could hear Ichigo's voice ranting as he was taken in the house.

"This is gonna be fun". Shuan said as he and Emma followed Chad into the house. I soon followed after them as well.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hey! Not bad Miss Orihime"! Koganehiko said as Orihime made a successful spirit core. Chad's energy was strong, but unstable, and Uryu's was funny looking. It ended up looking like a sideways eye. Ichigo...well let's just say he didn't have the hang of it yet. Koganehiko and Shirokanehiko were both in his face and mocking him.

Ichigo ended up throwing the spirit core in Koganehiko's face. I fell on my butt, laughing my head off. Emma and Shuan had been leaning against the wall and now were leaning on each other for support to keep from falling as they laughed.

Ichigo demanded to be given a tip on how to do it. I snickered and looked over to see what Ganju was doing. He was sitting against the wall while picking his nose. I mentally gagged at the sight.

_'Nasty'._ Shiva said. I agreed with her. Sometime later, one of Ganju's friends came in, announcing that dinner was ready. Ganju explained why the souls that lived in the Rukongai didn't feed us. They didn't know how to use their reiatsu, so they never got hungry. Emma, Shuan, Orihime, Chad, and Uryu all went to eat. I stayed behind with Ichigo and Ganju.

I decided to do this for two reasons; one, watch how Ichigo progressed, and two, keep these two males from fighting each other. I knew how to deal with hunger. I could survive off of my own spirit energy for days on end without getting hungry. I went on the other side of the room, opposite of Ganju, and sat down to watch Ichigo.

Sometime later Ichigo got tired of Ganju making noise while he did various activities. Personally I was sick of the noise myself. I'd been meditating and having strategy sessions with Shiva and Shirozangetsu. Ichigo ended up throwing the spirit core at Ganju, who dodged it.

_'Why do people always throw that thing'. _ I mentally sighed to myself.

"You're really pushing yourself. Is it that important that you save this soul reaper"? Ganju asked Ichigo as he picked up the spirit core.

_'Well of course. She's our friend, just like Chad, Orihime, and Uryu have become'._ I thought to myself. Ichigo looked at Ganju.

"Not really". I sweat dropped.

_'Huh'?_

"Huh". Ganju said the exact thing that was going through my head. Ichigo walked up to him and grabbed the spirit core.

"Gimme that". He said.

"Hey... Well, did you promise to save her or something"? He asked Ichigo.

"No". Was all Ichigo said.

"Then it's about money! You're getting paid to save her". Ichigo sweat dropped at him.

"Your money's no good in my world moron". Ichigo said.

"Then why are you trying so hard! I don't get it". Ganju looked at Ichigo in confusion.

"I owe her. She saved my life. I haven't repaid her for that yet. She gave her powers to me...a complete stranger...so I could save my family. And that's why she's in trouble. Right now, she's waiting to be executed. I'm not some punk who'd let her die without a fight"! Ichigo said with conviction. I couldn't help but smile as I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. Ganju walked up to him and grabbed the spirit core from him.

"Gimme that"!

"Hey! What're you doing? Give it back"! Ichigo commanded, but Ganju ignored him and walked away.

"I'm gonna practice too. You got a problem with that? Then plug your ears and don't listen, cause I'm gonna give you a tip I came up with myself. Visualize a dark sphere in your mind. Then imagine yourself falling into the center of the dark sphere". Ganju said as he summoned the spirit core around him.

_'Not bad, but I know an easier way'._ I thought to myself.

"This is the basic form of all spells". Ganju said before dispersing the spirit core back to normal. He then started talking all cocky-like, tossed the spirit core back to Ichigo, and walked out the door.

"Cocky idiot". Ichigo mirrored my thoughts. I couldn't help but smirk.

_'Men'._ I thought to myself. Ichigo held up the spirit core and closed his eyes.

"Visualize a sphere in your mind". Ichigo said as he focused his power. It backfired though. His energy rushed out of him and created a huge energy ball around him I was nearly pushed into the wall. Within mere moments Kukaku opened the door and saw Ichigo.

"You idiot! What are you doing?! Solidify your reiatsu! Quickly"! She yelled. Ichigo managed to form the energy into the normal size of the cannonball. I sighed and walked over to where Kukaku and the others were by the door.

"I did it"! Ichigo called out happily. Orihime jumped up.

"Good job Ichigo"! I sweat dropped.

_'Uh-oh'._ I thought.

"Thanks"! Ichigo yelled back at Orihime, successfully breaking his concentration.

"You fool! Never break your concentration so suddenly"! Kukaku yelled out to the confused Ichigo. I moved quickly in front of the others at the same time as Emma. We both called out the incantation.

"Kage bakudo number 8, Seki"! We said quickly as the explosion filled the room. Our Seki protected the others from the blast. I quickly released the kido and went up to stand beside the slightly crispy Ichigo. Emma did the same, but went to stand by Shuan.

Kukaku ended up giving him a very humorous chewing out, as in a strong punch to the head. She got onto Ganju as well for giving him the tip in the first place. I looked around for Emma and Shuan and noticed that they were still in the hallway, most likely laughing their tail ends off from the sounds of their laughter coming from the door.

Yoruichi also had come in and started scolding Ichigo as well. Ichigo ended up passing out from using so much reiatsu at once. He ended up grabbing Yoruichi's tail and wouldn't let go. It took both Chad and myself to get him off of her tail. His grip left it looking like one of those funky toothbrushes that I used to use as a kid. I almost laughed, if not for Yoruichi's glare.

We ended up leaving Ichigo to sleep on the floor while Ganju started studying a scroll with some sort of incantation on it. I headed out side with Yoruichi and the others. I sat on the podium with Kukaku. Soon Ichigo came out and joined the rest of us.

"Good, you're all here". Yoruichi said. I looked at Ichigo and noticed his confused face.

"What happened Yoruichi? Your tail looks like one of those funky toothbrushes". He said, taking the words right out of my mouth. I snickered.

_'Hehe'._ I thought to myself. He was in trouble. Yoruichi turned to look at him...no, death glare at him.

"Do you have a problem with that"? She asked. I could feel the threatening energy rolling off of her, even though it wasn't directed to me. Ichigo at least did the smart thing to do.

"N-no. It looks great as always". He said. Uryu then quietly explained to him about what had happened. Then Kukaku spoke up.

"Hey, where's Ganju"? She asked Ichigo. He was about to say something when Ganju ran up to the platform, wearing what looked to be a fighting outfit.

_'At least it's better than Uryu's'._ Shirozangetsu commented. Shiva giggled. Ichigo asked Ganju about why he was wearing a battle costume if he was only supposed to be seeing us off. Then Ganju got up in Ichigo's face by pulling him forward by his shihakusho.

"My older brother was killed by a soul reaper"! He said. My eyes widened.

_'So that's why he'd had such a drive to fight Ichigo when we first met'._ I realized. He then explained about what had happened that he remembered from when he saw his brother being dragged up to his house by the soul reaper who killed him, and that his brother thanked the soul reaper in the end.

He also told us about why he wanted to come with us. He wanted to find something out about why his brother never hated the soul reapers, even though he was killed by one. Kukaku then told Ganju that since his mind seemed to be made up that if he went with us that he'd better be ready to die. Ganju accepted the challenge. Ichigo released himself from Ganju's grip and pulled him forward into the same position that Ganju had him in a second ago.

"Welcome aboard then". I grinned and jumped up.

"Well then let's get to it"! I said as I fist pumped the air. Emma and Shuan also jumped up excitedly.

"Lock and load people"! Emma cheered.

"Kick ass time"! Shuan yelled. Kukaku laughed herself.

"You'd better be ready! Cause there's no turning back now kiddies! Let's go"! She said as she turned to the cannon. Each of us got inside. It was a bit of a tight fit, what with the eight of us in the cannon, but each of us had a hand on the spirit core. Yoruichi gave us one last rundown of the plan. We began to hear Kukaku reciting an incantation for a kido outside of the cannon.

"It's starting! Combine your reiatsu"! Yoruichi said as I felt the energy charge up the air. Everyone poured in their power to the spirit core. Emma, Shuan, and I made sure to keep ours close to the output of the others. The three of us shared a silent thought as we focused our energies. We were then sent shooting into the sky.

I looked back to the ground, which felt weird when you weren't in control of the thing keeping you in the air.

"Hey, I expected a bigger jolt". Ichigo said. Ganju smirked at him.

"Idiot, it's coming". He'd just finished the sentence when we stopped in midair. Then we were sent hurtling towards the west. Ganju then pulled out the scroll from earlier and told us about how we had to regulate our reiatsu output to match his while he recited the incantation to control our speed and trajectory.

Emma, Shuan, and I easily matched our with Ganju's energy. Ichigo's was still up too high. Orihime, Uryu, and Chad all complained and Ichigo kept trying to lower it. While this was going on, Ganju was still reciting the incantation, but ended up repeating a line. They ended up arguing. I got ticked because I already saw the Seireitei approaching us fast.

"Shut up! We're about to hit the wall surrounding the Seireitei"! I said angrily. They shut up and then Yoruichi spoke up.

"We have no choice! Put all of your energy into the core! Make it as hard as possible"! Yoruichi yelled as we approached the barrier. Me and my team infused our energy into it and hardened it.

We hit the barrier at full force.

We managed to break through the barrier, but the spirit core disintegrated around us. We were left suspended in midair. I knew what was about to happen.

"Stay together guys! If we don't, we'll all be separated"! Just as I said that, the energy vortex started up.

"Don't get separated! Grab someone close to you"! Yoruichi yelled through the roar of the wind. Ganju grabbed Ichigo. Chad had grabbed Orihime, but Uryu was about to fall out on his own. Chad grabbed him and tossed him to Orihime, sending himself flying away alone. Emma and Shuan were sent flying to the east.

In the end Ichigo was with Ganju, Orihime with Uryu, Chad was alone, Shuan with Emma, and finally, Yoruichi and myself were sent flying in a different direction, away from the others. Yoruichi was on my shoulder as we shot through the air.

"Dominique, there are soul reapers down there, when we get close do you think you can open your hollow wings and get us away without them seeing us"? I nodded and I prepared my body to change forms in an instant. I already started forming my claws and tail to control the flight before I summoned my wings.

When we were practically in front of the group of soul reapers faces I changed completely, my black reiatsu flared around me, and I jerked my wings. Pain shot through my shoulders as we shot off to the side and away from the soul reapers. The feeling that went through my shoulders was bone wrenching, but the plan worked.

We glided through the air a moment before landing on a roof some distance away. I laid down on the roof, spread my wings out, and I let them dissolve away in a wave of red/black reiatsu. BUT MAN, DID MY SHOULDERS HURT NOW!

"Are you okay Dominique"? Yoruichi asked me.

"Yah I'm fine, but I sure as hell don't ever want to do that again. An instantaneous change and a bone wrenching twist like that did not feel pleasant. Oh well, no time for moping, let's get done what we came here to do". I said as I stood up and looked over the Seireitei from the rooftop. We'd made it.

Me: Yay chapter 8 is finally done! XD Sorry it took so long and I hoped yall don't get mad. If anybody flames my story the flames will be sent to Aizen and he will burn, and burn, and burn for all of eternity!

Cookies to Rose and Lulukunu, oh and chocolate too. Everyone else who is nice to me and gives me decent constructive reviews gets sweet tarts cause I don't like them and I have too many of them, so I give them to my friends. Now for my normal departure sayings!

Crawl by Breaking Benjamin

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	9. Stopping the Rain

Me: Next chapter! I own nothing, but my characters, and my imagination.

**Chapter 9: Stopping the Rain **

Dominique's POV

I was following Yoruichi on top of the walls. I made sure to keep tabs on everyone's reiatsu as we ran on. Emma and Shuan were fighting several low level soul reapers, and the others were in their own battles as they came across the enemy. Yoruichi and I had to fight our own way through several units of soul reapers.

That's when I felt Ichigo's reiatsu rise. He was being attacked by a strong opponent already. I wanted to go to him, but I continued to follow Yoruichi. He could fight on his own a while. I had my own problems to deal with anyway.

Yoruichi spoke up once, when we were hiding behind a wall from another group of soul reapers.

"Since you are better at controlling your reiatsu, are you able to seal your zanpakuto into a smaller size? That large blade of yours is attracting a lot of unneeded attention". She said seriously. I nodded.

"Yah, I could, but I normally just choose to leave my Zangetsu unsealed. But I've had to seal it before during training. I was learning how to be stealthy and all that ya know. Do you want me to seal my Zangetsu"? I asked as I looked down at her. I really didn't want to seal up my blade. It made me feel exposed.

"Yes". She said and I pulled my zanpakuto from my back. The cloth fell away from the blade and I put my hand on it and lightly touched my fingertips to the cool metal. I closed my eyes in concentration and murmured.

"Seal shut the night sky, Zangetsu". My huge blade glowed as it turned into a normal katana. The cloth turned into a black sheath, with a white hilt, and the hilt guard looked like four crescent moons pushed back to back in a way that made it look like a four pointed star.

I put the sheath in my obi sash and sheathed my blade within it. Now I looked like an ordinary soul reaper. When the soul reapers passed we continued our way to the center of the Seireitei. Even though I was being stealthy I was seen a few times. Of course Yoruichi wasn't so I had to deal with the packs of annoying soul reapers. As I nimbly dodged their attacks, I landed a few good kicks and punches.

I didn't even have to wield my blade; they were weak, that and I didn't want to have any unnecessary bloodshed. I would ask anybody who didn't get knocked out by the first hit (Which was very few) where Rukia Kuchiki was being held.

Some would say "I don't know", but one said in the Repentance Cell. He blacked out before he could tell me where it was though. I dropped the low life in disgust, his unconscious body hitting the stone ground limply. They were weak and that was why shadow shinigami were so much better.

I caught up to Yoruichi and said that Rukia was being held in the Repentance Cell. She stopped dead in her tracks and I had to bound back to get to where she had stopped.

"The Repentance Cell? That's by Sokyoku Hill. See that large white tower up on the plateau? That's where she is". I nodded and we began to make our way to Sokyoku Hill. I sensed a reiatsu signature close by, but I really didn't take notice of it until I felt that it was following us. The fact that someone had the nerve to try and track me like that was insulting.

"Yoruichi, go on ahead without me. We got someone following us with a pretty decent reiatsu level. I'll catch up later". I said with a smirk on my face. She looked at me disapprovingly, but she went on ahead of me.

_'Good, now for the real fun to begin'._ Shirozangetsu mentally smirked. I stopped and looked to where the reiatsu was coming from.

"Hey, you might as well come out. I know you're there. You've been following me for a while now, so don't you think I would have noticed you? I'm not some rookie after all". A tall man jumped onto the roof a short distance away from me. He had spiky black hair, scars, and the number 69 on his face. He looked like he wouldn't hesitate to take you out if you got in his way. I said innocently, "So, what do ya want"? He blanked out for a minute at my question.

"My name's Shuhie Hisagi, lieutenant of squad 9. Who are you, ryoka"? He was definitely the serious type.

"The names Dominique Kudo. Nice to meet you. Now if you don't mind, I have to get going. Bye"! I said with a childish wave and a happy-go-lucky smile. I went to shunpo off, but he appeared in front of me and he went to attack me with a kick. I instantly went into observation mode.

_'Hakuda. He's no rookie from the looks of it too'._ I thought to myself as I grinned, and back flipped out of the way. I landed about five meters away from him. I smirked.

"So even though you have a zanpakuto you must prefer to fight with hakuda, am I right"? I said with a smirk on my face; trying to get a reaction out of him.

"Yah. So"? He sounded hesitant. Bingo.

"That's cool, but I still have to get going. I'm not here to fight you, but I will fight if I have to". I said as my smirk left my face and a serious expression took its place.

"Then why do you fight at all then". He asked me in the same serious tone. I sighed.

"I have to, because I'm here along with my friends to save Rukia Kuchiki. She's being put to death for something that doesn't deserve the death penalty. So we're here to save her". He blanched at my honesty.

"I am sorry, but I still can't let you pass though". I rubbed the back of my head with my hand and sighed at his stubbornness.

"Then I'm sorry Shuhei. You're forcing my hand". I then used shunpo to come up behind him and knocked him on the back of the head with a swift palm strike. He fell like a ton of bricks to the roof, he was out cold and would be for a while. I sighed again and started running towards Yoruichi. I normally would not have done that. I didn't like fighting dirty.

I felt Ichigo's reiatsu rise again, it had been down for a while, so he must have won that last fight, and Ganju's reiatsu had joined his again so they were together at least and could watch each other's backs.

But now there was a weak third one with them, and a seemingly familiar reiatsu was close to them as well. I closed my eyes to concentrate on the energy source and then I realized who it was. It was one of the two reiatsu that I had felt that night when Rukia was taken. Ichigo was gonna act stupid and try to get revenge on whoever it was!

I landed from a jump, twisted my body, and pivoted due North. I bolted towards Ichigo's reiatsu, passing by several sets of patrolling soul reapers. They were unable to see me, if they were, all they would have seen was a short black blur shooting across the rooftops. I seldom ran like this, but when I did, well, even Shuan had trouble keeping up with me.

To make my speed increase even more, I used both sonido and shunpo in a combination. I drew my sword and grabbed the sheath in my left hand. I monitored the fight that Ichigo was in, it was pretty intense, with both his reiatsu and the enemies reiatsu skyrocketing.

"Scratch the sky, Zangetsu"! My zanpakuto changed back to normal and I kept up my pace towards Ichigo. Yoruichi would have to make due without me for now.

When I got there, I saw him being dragged away by Ganju who was being followed by some scared looking soul reaper who had barely any reiatsu at all. I saw some dude with long red hair on the ground and bleeding, it was that reiatsu from earlier that I felt. I felt a short burst of pride in Ichigo's victory. I also felt four or five other soul reapers heading this way. I ran up to them and the wimpy soul reaper started freaking out.

"Don't worry kid. I'm Ichigo's friend". He calmed after a few minutes and he led us to a loose tile in the ground and we went underground. I helped Ganju carry Ichigo, who was injured pretty badly. The soul reaper told me his name was Hanataro Yamada of squad 4. I went through my memories and remembered that squad 4 was basically the medics and attendants of the Soul Society, so I knew that this dude was okay and not a threat.

I sat down by Ichigo and I poured my energy into my palms to start healing him inconspicuously. Hanataro came up beside me and he assisted me.

"W-w-what's your name"? I smiled at him. He was the cute little brotherly type.

"I'm Dominique Kudo, Ichigo's girlfriend". He nodded and smiled at me.

"Are you good at healing"? He asked me. I answered, a bit untruthfully.

"Somewhat, but my friend is ten time's better at kido than I am. She's good at all sorts of kidos. I can only do little stuff, but it will at least help you by making your job easier. You must be pretty good at healing to be in squad 4". I said.

"Well it's pretty much the only thing I can do". He was pretty good at it, for a normal soul reaper that is. I was careful to heal the worst of the damage with my healing shadow. I made sure not to let anyone see it though. That would cause me trouble, and that would cause questions to be asked.

I ended up using quite a bit of reiatsu. I hoped that I wouldn't have to release my gentie reiin. Then again, it has been a while since I've eaten, and my strength wasn't at a hundred percent,...but back to the subject at hand. We had Ichigo patched up nicely before long. The wounds that had looked fatal on him were now mostly scars.

Hanataro found something is Ichigo's shihakusho that scared him. It was a hollows mask. It was the same as mine. Ichigo's hollow powers were awakening and protecting him. I didn't say this out loud, but I left it on the ground beside him. Hanataro kept giving it scared looks though.

Ichigo woke up as Hanataro and I were applying the last of the bandages. He looked at me and smiled.

"Dominique. You're alright". Ichigo said as he looked up at me in surprise. I snickered.

"Yah and you're not. You were a bloody mess when I found you being dragged away by Ganju and Hanataro. I'm glad you didn't die. Don't do that shit to me again or I'll kick your ass myself". My eyes softened and I gave him a small smile. He blanked for a second, blinking twice.

"Oh yah, I fought Renji". I was guessing that was the red headed dude. Then Ichigo jumped up and said, "Thanks Dominique, Hanataro. I'm alright now". Hanataro was trying to make him sit back down and rest as he got up and grabbed his Zangetsu before heading for the tunnel entrance. I shunpoed to him and grabbed his wrist. I hit him on the back of the head and knocked him out. I caught him and carried him back to the makeshift bed.

_'Damn. That's twice today. What's with these people and making me have to result to fighting dirty'?_ I thought to myself glumly as I sat back down beside Ichigo's sleeping form.

I looked in on Ganju, who was sitting by the entrance, and saw that he'd fallen asleep as well. Hanataro went to him and started healing him too. I decided to stay by Ichigo and fell asleep a short while later.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

When I woke up, Ichigo was awake too, and staring at me. I mumbled sleepily.

"What? Do I got something on my face"? He huffed out a sigh, rubbed the back of his head, and looking away from me sheepishly yet still managing to scowl.

"My head hurts". He muttered. I giggled sleepily. It always took forever to get fully awake in the morning. I'd never been a morning person.

"Sorry, but you wouldn't have listened to me anyway, so I had to knock you out. Sorry". I gave him an apologetic smile and he smirked back at me. I showed Ichigo his hollow mask and he thought he would keep it for good luck since it saved his life. Hanataro started saying things like he should get rid of it because it was scary.

I kept my face passive though, it would show up again, even if he did throw it away, his hollow was awakening and soon he would have to face it. I felt Shirozangetsu's energy ripple through me slightly. As if his hollow's awakening was affecting him. Ichigo dropped the mask into the water of the underground passage. I stood there for a moment and watched as the mask sunk a ways before shattering and disappearing into the water.

I ignored my better instincts to say something about what was happening as we all made our way back to the outside world. Hanataro made sure to put the tile where it had been. We saw that the way was guard free and clear, so we started running up the steps. We ran for what seemed like hours. Man these steps seemed to last forever.

When we finally got to the top we stopped for a minute to catch our breaths, while I decided right then and there, that I hated stairs. Then we started running towards the huge buildings that seemed to block out any light that might have intruded into this place. I had an ominous feeling, but I ignored it.

That's when a huge reiatsu filled the air. It was so heavy that the very space seemed to distort. I kept my reiatsu low as to not attract any attention to myself. I looked back to Ganju and Hanataro and I saw that they were being crushed under the power of the dark reiatsu. I called out to them.

"Keep running! Don't stop"! We all started to run down the long corridor that was made up of the huge buildings.

I looked at Ichigo and saw that he had broken out into a cold sweat. I could feel the menace in the air, it was a captain's reiatsu, but it was the darkest I'd felt yet. It felt like the very bloodlust in the reiatsu that surrounded us would be enough to kill us all. I heard a heavy thump and I turned to see Hanataro on the ground. The reiatsu had caused him to pass out. Ganju picked him up and we continued to run from the menacing reiatsu.

The air was so heavy though that it seemed to me that no matter how much we ran we were going to have to fight the owner of this dark energy. I then felt something that reminded me of having someone whisper a secret in my ear.

"Is it you"? The voice said. The feeling was like that person doing the whispering had a sword to my throat. My instincts were screaming at me to look back, hollify, and attack. I looked up the same time Ichigo did and we saw the owner of the reiatsu. There was a man in a torn white hiori, up on one of the buildings; a captain. He had a malevolent grin on his face. I felt my hollows shudder at the sight of him, it was of excitement though.

_'Powerful opponent'._ Shiva said excitedly.

_'Fun'._ Shirozangetsu laughed.

I looked into the man's eyes and felt as if I would suffocate just by looking into them. I saw Ichigo out of the corner of my eye; he was gripping his chest as if he was making sure that it was still there. The man disappeared from my sight and then I felt his deathly presence right behind me and Ichigo.

_'Shunpo'._ I thought.

"You're Ichigo Kurosaki, right"? The captain asked. Ichigo stuttered.

"H-how do you know my name and who are you"? Ichigo asked.

"Oh, didn't Ikkaku tell you? I'm Kenpachi Zaraki, captain of squad 11, and I'm here to kill you". I grabbed Ichigo by the back of his shihakusho and shunpoed back to where Ganju and Hanataro were. He was stiff as a board.

I looked back, saw Hanataro on the ground, eyes wide, and he was frothing at the mouth. I knew if he didn't get out of here in a minute his soul would be completely crushed.

_'Damn. It's harder to fight when I have people to protect. I'm so not used to this'._ I thought, aggravated. Ichigo looked back and Ganju yelled at us not to let our guard down. I then heard a loud, but cute voice.

"HEY! He's drooling"! The next thing I saw was a little girl with pink hair standing on Ichigo's shoulder, as if to get a better look at Hanataro. Ichigo looked freaked and the girl shot back over in front of the man. Ichigo called to Hanataro and Ganju.

"You all get out of here. I'll win this one, somehow". Ganju looked at him for a minute, then he grabbed Hanataro, and ran. I stood beside Ichigo, ready to fight. Ichigo looked at me.

"You get out of here too Dominique. Go save Rukia". I opened my mouth to say something, but I shut it, and then whispered under my breath.

"Baka". And I raced off down the alley. When I was out of sight range I jumped up onto one of the huge buildings that filled this place. I then jumped over towards the soon to be battleground. When I got to a suitable ledge I took of my shihakusho top to expose the shozoku top. I wrapped it around my waist with the sleeves like a hoodie. I would change into my half hollow form, and snatch him out of there in a heartbeat.

When I sat down at the edge of the roof my vision suddenly became blurry. My thoughts became slurred, and I felt something pulling on my consciousness. Black filled my sight and I passed out.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I felt something cold touch my face; wind. My eyes shot open and I stood up in a wildflower covered clearing. I saw the trees and cloudy sky that made up my inner world. My eyes automatically scanned the area.

I saw Shirozangetsu and Shiva to my side, but I also saw a man who was wearing all black that reminded me immediately of my bankia; Zangetsu, and...another Shirozangetsu?

"Okay, what's going on here? Why are there two Shirozangetsus"? I then looked to the dark haired man dressed in all black.

"I am Zangetsu. It's nice to finally meet my other wielder face to face". He smiled at me. Zangetsu stood there next to the other Shirozangetsu, who was smiling; oh did I mention one difference between the two of them? No? Well the one standing beside Zangetsu had black teeth. Kind of freaky if you ask me. My eyes widened.

"Zangetsu". I remembered him from Ichigo's training, but I was acting surprised anyway.

"I haven't been able to contact you before, but then again, that's why you have Shirozangetsu there as you call him". I looked at him questioningly.

"It's nice to finally meet you as well Zangetsu". I said politely.

"I sent you Shirozangetsu so you would become stronger. Ichigo had power since he was young. So did you as a matter of fact. When his mother died, his strong emotions caused his inner hollow begin to awaken. He wasn't ready for this kind of life, and quite frankly you weren't either. I split his hollow in half, creating two separate beings. This one here and Shirozangetsu who stands beside you". I looked at the three of them and sighed.

"Well instead of calling him just 'Hollow' why don't we call you, Hichigo"? I said as I looked at him questioningly. Hichigo looked at me in surprise.

"Heh, you're definitely what Old Man Zangetsu described. You're definitely nicer than King would be". I smiled at him, nodded, and then put a serious look on my face.

"Why are you here"? I asked, all forms of politeness put away, and going into my serious mode.

"The reason you are here is because I need to remerge Shirozangetsu and Hichigo here". I froze in place and everything seemed to spin as what he said connected. He continued on with the explanation, "They have been separated for a long time and they have gained separate personalities. Ichigo is fighting his battle with captain of squad eleven; Kenpachi Zaraki. He is not strong enough yet to beat him. He has forgotten to rely on me as well in battle. He needs to learn to rely on us. The only way though that he can though, is if his hollow is in one piece. I sent Shirozangetsu to you five years ago because you and Ichigo share a connection. That connection is me. Hence you having my sword form in your possession". He explained seriously.

"So you sent the hollow mask to me that night so I would get stronger, and to protect me"? I crossed my arms over my chest and gripped my forearms. I could feel the tears begin to build up in my eyes at the thought of losing Shirozangetsu. The clouds in the sky darkened in color, giving away just how upset I was. Zangetsu nodded and Shirozangetsu walked up to me.

"I know you're sad. There's no reason to be though. I mean I'll still be here in a way, I'll just be hanging out with Ichigo. I've done my best to keep the rain from this place so far. Don't make the rain start just because I leave. None of us like the rain". He put his hand on my head, ruffling my hair gently. I gave him a small smile and gave a quick nod. Zangetsu then stepped forward.

"It's time. Ichigo has been wounded severely in his fight with Kenpachi Zaraki. Now, Shirozangetsu, Hichigo, Dominique, Shiva, follow me to Ichigo's inner world". The two hollows walked up to Zangetsu and Shiva walked up to me. She put her hand on my shoulder and I could see her face was indifferent, but her black and gold eyes betrayed deep sadness.

The three boys faced us and then Zangetsu's outfit began to billow and move on its own like shadows. It grew and enveloped us all. Everything went dark, then when the black receded, I saw Zangetsu standing with Shirozangetsu and Hichigo on a sideways building. In fact there were sideways buildings and clouds everywhere that went in the wrong direction.

"What a weird place...I like it". I said to distract myself. Then Shirozangetsu and Hichigo walked up to Zangetsu. Zangetsu's cloak billowed out again and engulfed the two of them. When the darkness scattered what was left standing there was the fully completed hollow. Zangetsu then disappeared and left us standing alone with the newly combined hollow.

"You two might want to go hide behind that building over there. And as to not get my name confused, just call me Hichigo Shirosaki". He said while looking at us seriously, a smile on his face, he had the looks of Shirozangetsu since he didn't have the black teeth anymore. Both of us nodded. I tugged on Shiva's shihakusho to get her to follow me.

Shiva didn't move at first. I saw that she was staring at Hichigo, longing filled her eyes. I fake coughed and pulled on her shihakusho again. This time she followed me to the edge of the sideways building, with a blush coloring her face.

I wanted to know what she was thinking about, but she blocked me completely from her thoughts. We moved ourselves to stand on the edge of the building before dropping down onto a ledge.

Ichigo's POV

I was lieing on the ground, a deep wound in my chest that was pouring blood, and my opponent was walking away from me. I tried to get up. More blood poured from the sword wound in my chest as blood also dribbled from my mouth. The coppery taste of it stuck to my tongue sickeningly.

That was when everything seemed to freeze. Kenpachi, who'd been in the middle of walking away was standing still, his blade hung in midair with pieces of the stone he'd been dragging it through making a trail behind him.

Then suddenly, Zangetsu appeared behind him. He began walking forward until he was standing above me. He looked down at me through his sunglasses.

"Do you want to fight"? He asked. His voice reverberated through my head. "Do you want to win? Or do you just want to live"? He asked. I looked at him in confusion for only a minute before answering.

"I want to win". I managed to say around the blood in my mouth.

"I can't hear you". Zangetsu said more seriously. I squared my shoulders as I kept trying to move up.

"Surviving in itself is pointless. Fighting for the sake of fighting is meaningless. The only thing that matters is winning. I want to win. I want to win"! I yelled up at Zangetsu.

He looked at me with an expression I couldn't read before stepping forward.

"Very well. I will take you there". He said as he leaned down to put a hand on my left shoulder. Then the cloak he was wearing began to billow out and spread like a pair of wings before swallowing me whole. That was when I felt as if I was falling.

I was surrounded in darkness as I fell. Then I saw a pinpoint of light and zoomed towards it. To where ever Zangetsu was taking me.

Dominique's POV

We stood on one of the windows and peeked over the edge as if we were spying. Ichigo then appeared where we'd been standing a few moments before. He opened his eyes and he, for some odd reason, fell backwards on the window he was standing on. He was looking down as if he was about to fall.

"Stand up Ichigo". Zangetsu ordered Ichigo after he appeared out of nowhere. I looked around and couldn't find Hichigo anywhere. I looked to Shiva and she had the same confused look on her face as I did, her eyes darting around. I saw Zangetsu throw something at Ichigo, it was a bare sword. Ichigo nearly dropped it and I couldn't help but laugh under my breath. He yelled at Zangetsu.

"Hey that's dangerous! What kind of messed up person throws an unsheathed sword"!? Ichigo yelled.

"Hold on to it. It's yours". Zangetsu said as he began to walk away from Ichigo.

"Huh? But this isn't you". He looked at Zangetsu in disbelief.

"This is an asauchi…a nameless zanpakuto for soul reapers who aren't worthy of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads". Zangetsu said as a matter of factly.

"But my zanpakuto's name is Zangetsu"! That's when Zangetsu turned to Ichigo, holding his sword self.

"The Zangetsu you speak of,,,the one your enemy broke earlier? I can't give it to you". He threw it towards where we were hiding, point aiming right at us. Both me and Shiva nearly screamed in surprise, but heard a loud command.

"MOVE"! We saw a white blur streak across the building and catch the zanpakuto; we slapped our hands over each other's mouths. Hichigo did a midair flip when he caught the zanpakuto and landed on the building with an audible crack. When Shiva took her hand off my mouth I muttered.

"Showoff". Ichigo looked at him in shock.

"Wha-what the heck are you"? Hichigo turned to face him and stood there for a short minute.

"Whaddya mean, partner"? He stood before Ichigo like how he stood before me all those years ago. Proud, menacing, and he had a dark smirk on his face that I knew all too well. Zangetsu went to stand beside Hichigo.

"I want to see if you're worthy of possessing me. If you want me back then you'll have to take me from yourself. This time the enemy is you! If you're worthy of possessing me, prove it. Take me with your own hands from your own hands".

"Ha! Take it. Come on partner, just try to take it from me"! Hichigo didn't give him time to say anything when he bolted right at him. Ichigo was just able to block it with the asauchi, but he was sent flying back. He at least landed on his feet. Hichigo stood there with Zangetsu in hand as the air began to burn up from the heavy reiatsu that came from him.

"What's wrong partner? You'd better watch out or I'm gonna kill ya". Ichigo looked at him in fear as Hichigo grabbed Zangetsu's hilt wrap and began to spin it around at a hypersonic pace. I muttered again

"Showoff". Shiva was giggling at my side.

"HERE"! Hichigo threw Zangetsu at Ichigo while keeping the hilt wrap in his left hand. Ichigo just barely dodged the blade as it drove itself into the building behind him, causing it to break apart. Then he yanked the hilt wrap, the sword flew back at him, and he started swinging it around again. "Humph, I missed". Ichigo looked at him in disbelief. He must not have ever thought of that sort of move. Shiva and I pulled ourselves up some more to see better.

"Ha, You pathetic Ichigo! How the hell did you get your ass handed to you while using Zangetsu!? I don't get it. You don't know anything about Zangetsu! Heck, Dominique knows more about him and he can't even talk to her like he can with you! She spent five years learning about her powers and growing stronger by trusting in her zanpakuto. She relied on Zangetsu even though he wasn't able to talk to her. Zangetsu could be stronger if you opened your heart up to him a little! But you can't, all you think about is yourself! You don't care about you're zanpakuto at all! He threw Zangetsu again at Ichigo. Ichigo dodged once more and then he straightened up. He stood there with his eyes closed, I looked over to Zangetsu, and saw that his eyes were closed too.

_'Give him another chance'. _ I thought in Zangetsu's direction.

"I'm gonna wrap this up now. You'll never wield Zangetsu again"! Hichigo grabbed the sword and charged at Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes opened and then in a flash of light, Ichigo was holding Zangetsu, while Hichigo was holding the asauchi. Ichigo looked at Zangetsu questioningly, then he showed a serious look on his face as if in thanks. He then faded from his inner world, leaving Hichigo to stand there alone, showing a small smile.

"Phew! Well that was fun. Hey, you two you can come out now". We jumped up and walked up towards Hichigo and Zangetsu. Zangetsu looked to us while Hichigo was standing there with the broken asauchi in his hand, then he threw it in a random direction as he walked up to us.

"I'm grateful for your help. Hichigo…". Zangetsu said.

"Yah. I guess I'll go back home now. See ya, Dominique, Shiva". He smiled when he said Shiva's name. He began to disintegrate into the shadows until he completely vanished, and then merged with Zangetsu, who turned to look at us.

"Close your eyes and look through Ichigo's. I've stopped the bleeding from his wounds for the moment, but it won't last, we need to finish this quickly. I will give him my strength to finish the battle". We both nodded at him.

"I will help him too. I will give him some of my strength. Shiva"? I said as I turned to my hollow.

"Got no choice do I? Heh, I'm in". She said with a smirk on her face. I closed my eyes, and the next thing I knew was that I was looking at a bloodied Kenpachi and felt several points of pain coming from my body, except that it wasn't my body, it was Ichigo's.

I stood there holding Zangetsu with Ichigo's hands. I/Ichigo was staring at Kenpachi as he was talking about being happy that he was battling someone stronger than he was. He reached his hand up and pulled off his eye patch.

Then a huge mass of reiatsu surged out from him. Like with Hichigo, his reiatsu became visible by the sheer power of it. I raised my blade close to my face to block out some of the rebuff of the power. My mouth began to move without my telling it to.

"Hey, no fair. You can't bring out something new like this so late in the fight. What have you got hidden in that eye of yours"? Kenpachi laughed and said that this wasn't some hidden trick. That his eye patch was specially made for him to eat reiatsu to give his opponents a handicap in battle.

That it made the battle more enjoyable. He then moved his hand and slashed his sword across a building, successfully cutting the whole building in two. Ichigo closed his eyes and Zangetsu spoke up and materialized outside of his mind, but still invisible to the rest of the world. He stood behind him and placed his hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"_Can you hear it Ichigo? His sword is screaming"._ I could hear it and I knew Ichigo could too. The sword's spirit was screaming in unheard pain.

"Yah. I hear it".

"_He can'__t. When those who don't trust each other fight together, the strength in each is diminished. Those who trust only in their own strength will never understand that for they only rely on thier own power. Ichigo… can you trust me"?_

"Of course. All of my strength is yours. Use it however you wish". I then materialized outside of Ichigo's body to stand beside him. I took a quick glance at myself and saw that my body was moving in a similar fashion to Zangetsu's. It was as if I was made of the very shadows, which was very cool. He looked at me in shock.

"_Ichigo, don't say anything. I'm here to help, he can't see me just like he can't see Zangetsu. I'm going to give you my strength to use as you please. Just trust me and I will give my power"._ I looked at him with determination in my eyes. Zangetsu put his hand on the hilt of the sword and I put my own hand on Ichigo's hand. His reiatsu sky rocketed. I re-entered his body to give him as much power as I could. I would feel drained for this, because I hadn't released my gentie reiin, but it was to protect Ichigo, for him I'd give my life.

"_Here he comes. I can't stop the bleeding for much longer. We only have one shot at this"._ Zangetsu warned us.

"LET'S GO"! Both Ichigo and I roared out as he raced forward towards Kenpachi. They collided and the shock waves sent out a huge explosion around us. I felt myself being shoved back into my body.

I opened my eyes and saw that the building I was on was collapsing from underneath me. I jumped up, summoned my wings, flapped, and landed on one of the undamaged buildings. Ichigo had been stabbed badly, I could feel it just before I was forced back into my own body. My hand went to my stomach instinctively, feeling for the wound that wasn't there.

I raised my wings and shot up into the sky. I soared above where he was and dived down towards him. When I landed, I saw that he was alone. But there were two large spots of blood; his and Kenpachi's. I saw Kenpachi's broken sword on the ground beside Ichigo. Ichigo had won.

I rushed over to Ichigo, not even bothering to change back to normal. In fact I pushed the arm weights up so I could change completely into my half hollow form. The blade-like horns grew from my arms where the weights had been, and my tail lashed from side to side as it reacted to my emotions.

I felt Yoruichi's reiatsu coming towards me. She walked up to where I was kneeling over Ichigo as I began to heft him up on my back.

"He did surprisingly well against him. I felt your energy mixed with his though. You helped him"? She asked.

"Yah. Zangetsu and I gave him our strength. I actually feel tired, but I can still carry him. Do you know a safe place to take him so I can start to heal him"? I asked, hoping that she knew somewhere where we could rest for a short bit.

"Yes. I'll change so we can get there faster". She arched her back and then energy pulsated from her body. When the smoke cleared a tall, purple haired, dark skinned woman was standing there. I couldn't help it, but I laughed at the sight.

"Put this on please". I undid the shihakusho top, and threw it to her. She was completely naked and she didn't even bother to cover up. It was a good thing that Ichigo was unconscious cause this would seriously make him freak.

"You get him. I'll carry your two zanpakutos. Now follow me". She raced off, faster than I'd expected. I got a running start and flew after her. The added weight of Ichigo on me slowed me down, but I continued to flap. My body was beginning to tire, but I refused to stop.

I followed Yoruichi to a cliff face with a small hole in the side containing a small door. She opened the door and I flew into the open door to a dark room. I landed with a thud on all fours and put him on the mat that was on the floor. Yoruichi disappeared for a minute and she reappeared with some strange devices that she set on the ground around Ichigo. My hollow form disintegrated from my exhaustion.

"Don't worry about trying to heal him. You seem too exhausted and the barrier that I put up around him will begin to heal him for us". I nodded, laid down beside him and knocked out. When I opened my eyes again, Yoruichi was back in her cat form and resting on my stomach. I couldn't help it, but I moved my hand up to scratch behind her ears.

"I put bandages on him and his wounds are healing nicely. I did find something that disturbed me though". She said as her gold eyes looked away to the other side of the room.

"What was it Yoruichi"? I sat up and she got off of me to show me a broken hollow's mask beside Ichigo. I picked it up and told her what happened when I saw Zangetsu in my inner world. She was shocked at first and I told her I would handle any future problems with Hichigo. It was apparent that he was still part of the Shirozangetsu that I knew, but he no longer had the experience to back up his strength.

He didn't know bankai or anything else anymore. Sure he knew about it, but he wouldn't be able to do it now. Heck, Shirozangets nor Shiva had been able to use bankai until I first used it. They had to grow with me. We grew from each other and we grew strong together. Now it was Ichigo's turn to learn. Shiva then said something that shook me.

_'What are we gonna tell the others? We've forgotten about our duties in squad 0. What are we gonna tell Captain Rose and Captain Sero'? _

_'...Shit'._

Me: O-o-o-o XD Cliffy! BE PAITIENT! Thank you Rose for letting me join squad 0, thank you luna for encuraging me to go and join and for making me a cofounder of Bleach-OC-Insanity, SeasprayLuv for being my friend in school and for making my B-days and lunches berable, and drmona for being one heck of a wild freind, and Terra; drmona's sister for giving her insperation on her truth or dare story and for helping us torture the crap out of Aizen. Now as Luna says: THIS-IS-SPARTA! Oh, and school sucks as usuall but as teens and kids we must endure, kick ass, fight for our rights and all that jazz! Oh well my ranting fit is done, I'm currently running on a sugar high from a bunch of chocolate cookies that I baked this morning, so without further adieue my usuall but at the same time new farewell sendoff!

Awaken by Pillar

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU , AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	10. Bankai!

Me: OMYGOODNESS! So many reviews I'm so happy! I have a confirmation! The lemon chapter is on! So all those people who don't want to read it then don't cause I'm gonna make it. Now on to the next Chapter!

Shiva: You talk too much.

Me: SHUT UP!

Shiva: Hehe. She owns nothing but her twisted imagination. P.S. And her total obsession over Ichigo.

Me: WTF! NOT COOL!

Shiva: Hehe Byebye! (Gin Style!)

Me: GRRRRRRR!

**Chapter 10: BANKAI!**

Dominique's POV

'…_Shit'._

'_Rose is gonna be so mad at us'._

'_No da freak'__n duh! I need a soul phone now; I forgot mine in the World of the Living. Wonder if Yoruichi has one'?_

'_How the hell should I know? Ask'._ I turned to the black cat.

"Hey Yoruichi, do you have a soul phone"?

"Yes. I do have one somewhere around here. I think it's over there in the corner in one of those boxes. Why. Do you need one"? I didn't answer, leaving her with a puzzled look.

I stood up, walked over to the corner, and dug through the box. There was quite a few things that looked weird and I didn't dare touch them cause some of them actually looked like they would kill you if you touched it. When I got the phone, I punched in Rose's number. I pressed send and it rang for a few seconds before I heard her voice on the other end.

"Who is this"? That was definitely Rose's voice.

"Captain Rose? This is Dominique".

"Hey! Good to hear from you. Why are you calling me from a number I don't recognize? You usually just call me or Sero from your phone. What's going on"? She asked with humor in her voice. I hesitated and huffed out a sigh.

"I'm in the Soul Society. I'm with Emma and Shuan on a rescue mission". Her voice got serious then.

"How in the world did you get into the Soul Society? I've been hearing reports that a bunch of ryoka broke into the Seireitei. Please tell me that it's not you three. If it is, then why in the hell didn't you tell me? I would have wanted to come, and have fun too". Her voice sounded like an whining little kid, but at least not mad.

"Unfortunately yes. We got here thanks to a man who goes by the name Kisuke Urahara. I'm here with some new friends too. Their names are Ichigo Kurosaki, Uryu Ishida, Chad Sado, and Orihime Inoue. One is a new shadow shinigami, one is a quincy, and the two others are gifted humans". I reported.

"I see. Who are you rescuing"? She asked lightly.

"Rukia Kuchiki". I then told her about what happened since I met Ichigo and the whole situation at hand.

"I see. You've gotten yourself into quite a bit of a mess over there. I'm sorry about Shirozanny. I'm sure things will work out. I can't really do anything about the whole mess there at the moment, so I'm leaving it to you to save Rukia and fix this. I'm currently in Hueco Mundo dealing with stuff over here. I'm sending a few people to spy over there for a while, but I won't give you the details for the moment. There is something seriously messed up shit going on around here though. Things are going to change soon though. I don't get why her execution day has been moved so much though. I've got a bad feeling about this, but I'm currently busy with my own dilemma right now. All I can say for now is good luck, and kick some snooty noble asses". She ended with an excited snarl.

"Thanks Rose. I'll show them what squad 0 is made of". I said proudly. The line went dead, and I shut the phone with a sharp click. I put it back in the box and went to go sit by Ichigo and relax. He was still on the mat, but his head was on a pillow, and he was now covered with blanket. I looked to Yoruichi.

"When are you gonna show the others your true form"? I asked curiously.

"I don't know. Should I show Ichigo when he wakes up"? A dark, mischievous grin came on her face. I smiled at the thought of seeing his face when he saw Yoruichi's true form for the first time. The thought was just too perfect to pass up.

"Yah, you should". She looked at me questioningly.

"You sure you won't get jealous that he's seeing me naked"? She inquired with a sly look in her gold eyes.

"Nah. He's the kind of person who would probably be bright red in the face and look away like a five year old. When will he wake up anyway"? Shiva barged in while I had been saying that sentence.

_'Plus I wanna see his face'!_ She cheered excitedly.

_'Yep. Me too. I wish I had a camera to catch it, but oh well'._ It'll be funny as hell.

"Any minute now". To prove a point. He stirred and opened his eyes. Yoruichi walked up to him.

"Finally awake huh"? He looked at her and smiled.

"Yoruichi! I'm glad you're alright! Where's Dominique"? I poked him in the shoulder gently.

"Hey Ichigo. Good to see that you're finally awake. I'm glad you're alright". I grinned. This was what, the second time he'd been seriously damaged during a fight?

"Oh yah. I got cut up real bad…crap"! He jolted up into a sitting position. Blood spurted from his now reopened stomach wound and onto the bandages. I moved and pushed him back down onto the ground. He struggled against me, but he couldn't move from under my hands. I had moved up behind him, and held his shoulders to the ground. Yoruichi moved to his side. I opened a mental link with him.

_'Sit down'! _I commanded. He stopped moving and lay back down.

_'Fine'._ He huffed out a sigh along with his mental answer. Well at least he seems to have gotten used to the mental link thing. Good.

"Just what do you think you are doing"? Yoruichi questioned. His eyes still had that frantic look to them.

"Chad's in trouble though". Ichigo said in worry. Yoruichi's eyes softened in understanding.

"Chad is alright. Orihime, Uryu, Shuan, and Emma are fine too. They're still alive. Chad was hurt, but he's alive. Uryu and Orihime are practically unscathed. Shuan and Emma are on the far side of the Seireitei so it will be some time before they get here. So be good and stay in the barrier for now. You'd be no use to anyone with you being injured the way you are now. Half your organs were crushed. If this hadn't been in your pocket you probably would have been cut in two". She moved the hollow mask towards him. He looked at it in surprise.

"That was in my pocket? But I tossed it in the underground waterway". He picked it up and held it as if to get a better look at it.

"Wait. I'll hold on to it". She looked worried, which confused me as to why.

"But I just got it back". He whined at her.

"Give it to me now"! She looked so pissed that I don't think even I would have crossed her. I didn't understand though why she wanted it. Maybe she thought that she could slow down the hollification if she took the mask away from him. She was wrong, once it starts, it can't stop. He was destined to be a shadow shinigami, the dice were already cast long ago. Ichigo gave it to her and then she looked at the mask. She had a serious look on her face.

"Yoruichi, Dominique, you two are pretty amazing. This place is crawling with captains, but neither of you have a single scratch on you. Plus you and Dominique got me here. How could you have done that with your tiny body"?

"It wasn't that hard. What, with my original form. Not to mention Dominique was the one who carried you here, I just carried your zanpakutos here".

"...Original form"? He looked shocked.

"Hmmm. I guess Dominique **is** the only one who has seen it so I guess it wouldn't hurt to show you my true form". While she had been talking she had walked slightly further away from him. Then her body began to emanate reiatsu as she changed. She stood there with a serious look on her face. Completely naked, with a straight face.

"A-a-a w-woman"?! I tried hard to keep a straight face, trying not to laugh at his shocked face.

"Your face shows that you're surprised. Showing my true form to people is always funny. People always think I'm a guy cause I sound like one when I'm a cat". She was chuckling under her breath.

"You mean you weren't really a cat"?

"Cats don't talk. That's just common sense. Now I'll show you how we got you here". She then walked up to him without bothering to cover anything. She picked up the weird doodad that she had used to fly herself up here. She crouched down in front of him, legs spread wide. His face burned crimson and he shouted out.

"**PUT SOME CLOTHES ON DAMMIT**"! That did it; I was on my stomach laughing my ass off. He turned to me and gave me a death glare while clutching his stomach in pain. I couldn't help it, but I laughed even harder.

"Oh sorry. I haven't worn clothes in a while so I didn't really notice. Your reaction was quite entertaining. Haven't you ever seen a woman naked before"? She asked as she started getting on her clothes. But her eyes were looking at me with a sly smirk on her face. I shook my head. She chuckled again, like it was only a matter of time before he would see me.

"Shut up"! He said stubbornly. That was a big fat no. She laughed again.

"People must think you're such a bore". She gave him a mischievous grin before turning her gold eyes back to me.

"No they don't! H-HEY! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOUR PANTS?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PUT YOUR PANTS ON FIRST"! She finished putting on her clothes.

"This is how we got you here. Oh, is your stomach better? You must have reopened the wound what with all that screaming. You should be more careful". She was holding up the flying device with her foot. She was showing off.

"Shut up". He was clutching his stomach in pain.

"You already said that Ichigo, and you know she isn't gonna listen". I said highly at him, trying to hide my smirk. He huffed and then grabbed the bone like flying thing while I went to the trouble of resealing the wound that had only just begun to heal with the barrier devices that Yoruichi had put up.

"So if you fill this thing with reiatsu then you can fly with it"? He asked as I healed him.

"Yep". She looked at him smugly. He then turned to me. I had just finished and decided to lay down on the floor, on my stomach with my head resting on my arms; my back was still exposed cause I hadn't put my shihakusho top back on yet. He looked at my back for a minute.

"Dominique, what is that mark on your-"? A heavy reiatsu filled the air. Ichigo's eyes went wide and then he growled under his breath.

"T-that reiatsu! It's him"! I recognized it from that night along with Renji's reiatsu. It must be the other one that Ichigo had fought that night that Rukia was taken. Yoruichi looked aggravated.

"It's coming from the Repentance Cell". Yoruichi said as she looked towards the direction it was coming from. Ichigo got up and ran towards the door, grabbing his zanpakuto as he went. I jumped up.

"Where are you going"?! I looked at him like he went nuts.

"Remember?! We sent Ganju and Hanataro on ahead. If I don't go, who's gonna save them"? He gripped the device and poured his reiatsu into it. The bones on it became a wing and he jumped from the ledge. He soared into the sky with a speed that rivaled my own. I stood there for a second watching him soar away, a pissed off look on my face.

_'Me you idiot. I could have gone and saved them'._ I thought angrily to myself. Yoruichi ran back into the room to grab a small tablet looking pill and a white ribbon.

"Can you get us there"? I changed immediately into my half hollow form. I tucked my mask away into my shozoku top. I turned to Yoruichi and grinned.

"What do you think"? I took off and she jumped onto my back. I flapped my wings to send us higher.

"I need you to give Ichigo this medicine. I don't think he'll listen to us any other way. So when I tell you to, you have to stab him in the stomach to release this medicine directly into his organs. It's the only way to get him out of there so we can make him strong enough to fight". I nodded solemnly at her explanation. I **so** didn't want to have to do that, but if he didn't listen I would. I then thought that he would see me in this form when we get there. This wasn't going to be pleasant either.

"I'm gonna have to tell him about what I am now. Once we get him back to safety I'll have to tell him everything". I winced at the thought of seeing his face when I told him everything.

"I know. He will accept you though. I can tell he loves you enough that he would never turn his back on you. Now, do you remember what to do"? I nodded again.

"Yeah Yoruichi, I'll remember". I said seriously. I felt the reiatsu in the air rise again.

"Damn! Byakuya's about to release his zanpakuto! Let's go"! She shunpoed off my back and she moved so fast that even I couldn't see it. She wrapped the white ribbon around his blade; sealing his shikai somehow. I dived down in front of Ichigo, my wings flaring as my feet touched the ground.

_'Now that is how you make an entrance'._ I thought smugly to myself. I closed my eyes to slits so that he wouldn't see my black and gold eyes. I folded my wings and stood strait. I saw that he was in a fighting position, and he looked at me in shock.

"Dominique, Yoruichi"? He said in surprise. I winced, but I spoke, even though he would hear the metallic ring to my voice that came with this form.

"Yes. Don't ask right now. I'll talk to you about this later". I said as I motioned to my altered body with my clawed hands. He looked at me, and then to Yoruichi. I turned to look back at where Yoruichi had stopped Byakuya, who looked at Yoruichi coolly, before looking at me.

Yoruichi Shihoin, it's been a long time. Over a hundred years I think. I thought you were dead. What is that **thing**"? He said with indifference. I let out a growl, he was talking about me and he called me a 'thing', which instantly pissed me off. Ichigo took a step towards me.

"Dominique, Yoruichi, thank you both for coming, but I have to defeat him myself. Please step aside". He completely brushed off Byakuya's question, then Yoruichi turned towards him.

"You? Beat him? You are a fool if you think you can beat him the way you are now. Do it now Dominique". Yoruichi said as she kept her eyes on Byakuya. I tensed and sonidoed right in front of Ichigo so fast that he didn't even see it.

"I'm sorry Ichigo. This is for your own good". I charged forward with the medicine tablet hidden in my claws. I stabbed him directly in to where I had just healed him earlier and entered into several of his organs. I held my hand there for a momentum releasing the tablet, before pulling my hand back out of his abdomen.

"D-Dominique…why"? I pulled my hand from his stomach and caught him when he went to fall forward as the medicine completely knocked him out. His blood was dripping from my clawed hand, turning my white skin crimson. I turned him so he was on my back, my wings were forced to open since he was now pressed on the shoulder joints.

I grabbed his Zangetsu as well as my own, and stood turned to face the others holding his zanpakuto and mine in a fighting stance. The cloths came off of the blades and I held them at the ready. I opened my eyes and looked ahead with a pissed off look to my face. The white haired captain looked at me in shock. He didn't say anything though. Yoruichi turned to me.

"Dominique. Get him out of here". Yoruichi ordered. I nodded and raised my wings to the sky for dramatic effect. I crouched and soared up into the air. I was able to grab the flying thing with my tail before I was all the way up. I flew on top of a building beside the bridge to wait for Yoruichi. Byakuya was chasing Yoruichi; it looked like they were playing tag at hypersonic speed.

"Did you think you could beat me with a shunpo that slow"? He appeared behind her one time and he cut her in half! My eyes went wide with shock, but when I blinked, I saw that it was a sheet that he had cut. She stood on his arm.

"Did you think you could catch me with a shunpo that predictable"? She grinned and shunpoed up to where I was waiting. She looked down on the two captains beside me.

"I'm calling a temporary truce. I know it's self-serving, but I will make Ichigo stronger than you in three days. Chase us if you wish, but the Goddess of Flash Yoruichi, and the Ryuhime Dominique will never be caught by the likes of you". She nodded to me, and I gave her the flying device. She took it, we shunpoed off away from eyesight of the enemy and then she flew alongside me back to the hideout.

When we were inside, she helped me put Ichigo back on the matt with the barrier, and I resealed his wound. I then bound it with fresh bandages after I changed back to normal.

"I'm going to train him how to use his bankia". She said as she leaned against the wall of the hideout. She looked tired from the way she was sweating.

"I know. It's the only way to make him strong enough in time. What was with the nickname"? I asked.

"Well I have the nickname; Goddess of Flash, so I thought Ryuhime or Dragon Princess would suit you". I grinned at her then I looked down thoughtfully at the out cold Ichigo.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"WHY DID YOU GET ME OUT OF THERE"!? Ichigo yelled at Yoruichi. I stood up and walked to him. He looked at me in shock and I pulled him off of Yoruichi who he had pinned up against the wall by her collar of her shirt.

I walked forward, grabbed his shihakusho, and pinned him to the ground with ease. I took care, even though all his wounds were completely healed. I was still much stronger than him, and had to hold back my strength.

"We got you out of there because you're not ready to fight Byakuya yet. We are going to make you strong enough to beat him in three days". I said as I looked down at him seriously. Yoruichi interrupted me.

"Out of everyone there, Dominique was the only one who had a chance of beating him besides myself. That's because she has had much more training than you. But if she had fought him there then she would have been distracted by trying to protect you, Ganju, Hanataro, and Rukia. If you would have fought him you would have been killed. Now stop shouting or you're gonna open your wounds again that she took the time to heal". I then spoke up.

"From what Yoruichi told me while you were out cold, Captain Ukitake of squad 13 wouldn't let Ganju, or Hanataro die, so they'll be alright". She turned to both of us after I helped Ichigo back up onto his feet.

"Now both of you follow me to the training ground so we can get started on your training". We followed her to a door that led to a huge underground cavern that looked suspiciously like the underground training room at Urahara's. I put back on my shihakusho top as we walked down the steps. Ichigo looked at me and I shook my head as to tell him not right now.

"Now Ichigo, I want to ask you a question. Did you know that Zangetsu is a constant release zanpakuto"? Yoruichi asked Ichigo out of the blue. He looked at her in surprise.

"Do you mean like Kenpachi's? I always knew that Zangetsu was different. It doesn't change shape even when I call out its name". He stood there and drew Zangetsu.

"I see that Dominique hasn't told you yet. In that case, you weren't aware that Zangetsu had a second release. All zanpakuto have two stages of release. The first is shikai and the second is bankai. It is mandatory that for someone to be a captain, they have to have mastered both shikai and bankai. There has only ever been one captain who can't do either; Kenpachi Zaraki. He is the first captain ever in history to have become a captain without knowing the name of his zanpakuto. He was valued for his determination and fighting skills, but you've seen that firsthand. The difference between shikai and bankai in combat ability and power depends on the users abilities and own strength. But most of the time the power is five to ten times greater that shikai". Ichigo looked at her in shock.

"Ten...times"?! He said in shock.

"Heh, shocking isn't it? Even someone with talent it can take up to ten or more years of training to master bankai". He cut her off.

"WAIT! I don't have that sort of time". This time I jumped in.

"When she says ten to twenty years she means normal training. I've learned bankai already and I've only had my powers for five years. I achieved bankai myself without any help from anyone in only ten days. But since you have the help of me and Yoruichi, you will learn bankai in just three". He stared at me when I told him I already knew our bankai. Yoruichi spoke up.

"There will be serious risk involved, but you are going to use a special training method that Urahara and I developed". She shunpoed off.

"I know that you want to know what all happened back there at the bridge. But I can't explain everything at the moment, I can at least show you our bankai though. I will show you while Yoruichi gets what she needs to get to train you". I walked a safe distance away and grabbed my Zangetsu off my back. I turned towards him and pointed my zanpakuto at him, the cloth wrapped itself around my arm as if it had a life of its own.

_'Here we go'._ I thought to myself. I let my reiatsu flow freely and called out.

"BANKAI"! The area was filled with my red/black reiatsu. When the smoked cleared I stood there in my changed outfit. It looked similar to Zangetsu's outfit, just more refined, not to mention the blue cloth gi used to keep out perverted eyes since my bankai top was a bit revealing.

_'Hmmm, how would that look on Ichigo'?_ I thought to myself. Then I remembered Shirozangetsu's own look, and mentally smiled at the thought as I stepped towards Ichigo before calling the name of our bankai..

"Tensa Zangetsu". I said as I walked up to Ichigo holding the pitch black zanpakuto that signified my bankai. I gave him a cocky grin as I looked up into his eyes through my bangs.

"That's our bankai"? He asked.

"Yep. Zangetsu and I will teach you how to achieve this and then how to use it. Just achieving it is half the process; the next part is how to control the power. You'll get that through experience though". I said as I turned away from him and began walking away, the bankai coat swinging dramatically as I did so.

_'I love this outfit'._ I thought to myself.

"Dominique, I want to ask you what that was earlier, at the bridge"? I sighed as I stopped walking. I had to tell him now.

"Ichigo, remember, I didn't have Zangetsu or anyone else to teach me how to fight except for two people. You've met my teacher already. In a sense, he was you; to be exact…he's your inner hollow". He stood there petrified from my words.

"?" He was definitely confused, and shocked too I believed.

"He was the one who gave me my powers those five years ago". I then told Ichigo about my past; how I got my powers, how I grew stronger, even what happened earlier that day. Let's just say he was shocked. He still didn't know everything though; I gave him the short version.

"You mean to tell me that for the past five years that you've been living with two hollows inside of your soul"? I could see the fear, but his eyes were mostly questioning, and curious.

"Yep. I got used to it pretty quickly. Now it seems almost too quiet in my mind now. I'll take you to my inner world sometime since I've already seen yours. I don't think you're gonna have the same powers, because our original hollows that are the actual parts of us are different. Shirozangetsu had only been there temporarily. Now **you** gotta deal with Hichigo". I felt sadness wash though me, but I squashed it down.

I changed back to normal and took off my shihakusho to reveal my back. Since Yoruichi didn't seem to be coming back anytime soon, I decided that I had enough time to show him.

I turned my back to him and showed him the sapphire dragon mark on my back. I then changed into my half hollow form and looked calmly at Ichigo through my mask with my gold/black eyes. He looked at me with a mixture of fear and curiosity. I moved my hollow mask to the side of my face and grinned at him. I then changed back to normal, and then I put back on my shihakusho. I heard the door close to the upper room; Yoruichi was back.

"Now Yoruichi is here so I'm just gonna go chill out and watch the festivities". I said before Ichigo could respond to what he'd seen. Yoruichi walked up to us holding a huge doll like thing. I jumped up and landed on a tall boulder to chill out.

"What's with the goofy looking doll Yoruichi"? Ichigo asked her. She grinned at him.

"It's a Tenshintai. It can forcibly transfer and externalize the soul of zanpakuto. It is an important tool for the Stealth Force". Ichigo looked at her in confusion.

"I don't get it. We need that thing to practice bankai". She gave him a serious look, but I could tell that this was humorous to her.

"Of course. The essence of shikai is to communicate and synchronize with your zanpakuto. But bankai requires externalizing and forcing it into submission. That means you have to make Zangetsu come into this world instead of just going into your inner world. It usually takes ten or more years to master this move. But you were able to beat Kenpachi Zaraki to a draw, so I think you're ready for this. Pierce this with Zangetsu and he will be forced into this world. Then I will use my powers to keep him in that state. But this can only be done once and it only last for three days. You must beat Zangetsu within that time, if you can't-". He stabbed Zangetsu into the doll, effectively cutting her off.

"I don't want to know what'll happen if I fail. If this is the only way that I can achieve bankai then I just have to win then". A blinding flash of light lit up the room, and the doll, along with his zanpakuto disappeared. Zangetsu materialized behind him.

"You've recovered Ichigo. Hello again Dominique". I waved to him and gave him a small smile.

"Sup Zangetsu". I said loud enough for him to hear.

"Zangetsu"? Ichigo asked. Yoruichi stepped forward.

"You heard"? She asked our zanpakuto. Zangetsu nodded.

"Yes". He walked forward to stand in front of both Ichigo and Yoruichi.

"I'll let you choose the style of battle. Can you start right away"? Yoruichi asked mine and Ichigo's blade. He nodded and bent down to the ground on one knee. Then suddenly, several thousand different shaped zanpakutos appeared everywhere from the air. I nearly got hit, and jumped up in surprise as I dodged the blade that imbedded itself in the rock where I'd been sitting a second ago.

"Hey! Next time warn me before you do something like that"! He ignored me and a tic mark appeared on my head. I jumped down and sat down where a sword wasn't sticking up from the ground. Ichigo looked around in shock.

"What the heck".

"Only one of them is the real me. I can only be defeated by that blade. If you want me to submit, find it before I kill you. Then…cut me down". Zangetsu explained to him seriously. Ichigo wasted no time getting started. He grabbed the nearest sword and charged at Zangetsu. Zangetsu grabbed a blade and blocked his attack with ease.

Soon the blade broke and Ichigo had to grab another one. This continued on for a full hour. Soon Ichigo had gone through 18 blades. All of them broke. I followed the fight by jumping from rock to rock. Ichigo saw a blade that looked like the original Zangetsu.

"That's it! Only the real one would be shaped like this"! He darted to it and grabbed it. He brought it around to attack. It was shattered in an instant, and it was broken by Zangetsu's bare hand none the less.

"That was pathetic". Zangetsu slashed his side and blood sprayed from the wound. I twitched. I held fast though, but I was tense. I had to let him fight on his own.

"I told you Ichigo. All of the blades here are pieces of your soul. This is a test to find the piece that was made for fighting. That one was a piece of your spirit that relies on me, your weakness. Until you can tell the difference, don't even think about bankai! Now then Ichigo, get up and try again. You don't have time to be resting on your knees". Zangetsu said towards Ichigo's panting form.

"I know that"! Ichigo growled and grabbed another sword, then he charged at Zangetsu again. So thus, the battle continued.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Another sword broke, but Ichigo impressively held his stance.

"That's 51". Ichigo tossed the broken blade away and grabbed another one. He charged forward again. When Zangetsu went to strike he moved his sword with Zangetsu's and deflected the attack. Then he stabbed forward, but Zangetsu jumped up into the air. He threw the sword down and shattered the one Ichigo was holding. He then shunpoed and smacked the crap out of Ichigo, sending him flying.

"Never take your eyes off your opponent. That's 52". Ichigo got up and wiped some blood from his mouth. He had a defiant look to his face.

"Damn, I almost had him that time". He grabbed another one and started again. He was growing stronger at a frightening pace. I was proud of him. At this rate I knew he would achieve bankai. When this was over, I would teach him how to use his soon to be awakening abilities.

Later, Ichigo's fight had changed pace again. He had been using the same sword for the past 5 minutes. I watched as they charged at each other again, but then suddenly, Zangetsu was replaced with the Tenshintai and the sword that he had been holding flew off into the distance.

Ichigo had a confused look on his face. It was totally funny, even though I blinked a few times in surprise myself. I jumped down and walked towards him and Yoruichi jumped off the rock she was on too. She took her hair down from the ponytail.

"Drop the sword Ichigo. Day one is over". Yoruichi led him to a hot spring. There was a huge rock face right behind it and I jumped on top of it. I looked away as he got undressed and got into the water. Hey, I may be his girlfriend, but I do have morals…some. I looked down though after a while and saw that he was splashing the water all over the place. I noticed that his wounds were healing and the gash on his face had completely disappeared. 

'_So the water has healing properties. Good...I think I'll get in too. Not for the healing, but just to mess with him, that and to relax myself'. _ Hey I said I had morals just not a lot though, hehe. I had no problems what-so-ever about messing with people's minds. I noticed Yoruichi coming towards the hot spring.

"Ichigo, how's the water"? All he could manage was a muffled uh-huh. He had drunk some of the water. Yoruichi looked up and me and grinned. She had an idea from the looks of it. I jumped down and close by, I saw a white towel laying folded on a rock. I was guessing that it was for me. I walked around near where Yoruichi was standing a short distance behind Ichigo. I watched as Yoruichi began to undress.

"I think I'll join you". Ichigo spit out the water and started choking. Impressive spit take.

"A-are you crazy!? Don't get in the water"! Ichigo was smart and didn't look back. Yoruichi laughed.

"I knew you'd act like this. You're such a prude". She changed into her cat form, but Ichigo didn't notice and continued to yell.

"What's that supposed to mean"?! Yoruichi slipped one paw in the water.

"Calm down. This form wont upset you then"? Ichigo looked through his fingers. Yoruichi had a grin on her face as she paddled through the water.

"Disappointed? Come on, out with it, you are aren't you? You little pervert". He looked pissed and a tic mark appeared on his forehead.

"I'm gonna drown you". I had undressed at this time and wrapped the towel firmly around my waist. Well at least it covered everything that was important. Only a little cleavage shown with the towel on me, what little I had at least. I had let my hair down and it covered most of my back. I walked around to where Yoruichi and Ichigo were in the water. Yoruichi saw me and gave me a devious grin.

"I think I'll join the party too". Ichigo jumped and his head snapped back and saw me walking towards them with the towel on me. I smiled at him. His face turned so red so fast, I couldn't help but laugh. I sank into the water a few feet away from him. I was immediately warmed to the core. Man this felt good.

"What? I need a bath too ya know. I get sweaty too after fighting for two days". I said cheekily. He gave me a glare, but then he grinned at me. I sank into the water even further so my head went under. My hair swirled around me, and the water caressed my face and body. I got back up, basked in the feeling of having my hair wet, and it sticking to my neck and back. It felt nice to be in water again.

I looked at Ichigo mischievously as I leaned casually against the rock, my arms outstretched since the towel was secure around my body, and crossed my legs casually.

"Well at least I had the sense to cover myself". I said nonchalantly. He blushed and looked away. He hadn't worn a towel, but since the water was so damn murky I couldn't see anything.

_'Damn'._ Shiva laughed in the back of my head at my teenage dismay. She was currently thinking about what Hichigo would look like in the hot spring. I had to admit it I was having my own fantasies as well about Ichigo.

_'Gotta love teenage hormones sometimes'._ Shiva said appreciatively. Ichigo then looked at Yoruichi.

"Hey I've been think'n. This place reminds me of the training ground under Hat n' Clog's shop". She looked at him.

"I would imagine so. That room was modeled after this one". I grinned across Ichigo to Yoruichi.

"I figured that was the case". Yoruichi looked at me and then to Ichigo. She had a sly look in her eyes.

"Yes. This was originally Kisuke's and my own secret playground. We built it deep underneath the Sokyoku when we were kids". Ichigo looked at her like he didn't believe it.

"Secret? How do you secretly build a place like this"? Yoruichi responded nonchalantly.

"Kisuke always had a talent for trouble. But that was years ago. When we were kids, we played here every day. After he joined the 13 court guard squads and I joined the Stealth Force we trained here together. And-". Ichigo cut her off.

"Wait a minute! The 13 court guard squads?! Then he was a soul reaper"? I looked at him like he was an idiot for not knowing the obvious. I spoke up.

"Of course he was a soul reaper. It's common sense. He has a zanpakuto, he knows a ton about the Soul Society, not to mention all the stuff he's got that deals with soul reaper business. It was the obvious answer". He looked at me for a minute, his eyes started to travel downward to my chest, but he diverted his eyes quickly away from me. Apparently he was having trouble keeping his eyes from my modest boobs. Yoruichi spoke up, breaking our tense little moment.

"Kisuke was the previous captain of squad 12, and he was the founder and chief of the Department of Research and Development". He turned and looked at her in shock, but when he went to look at her she had changed back into her human form. He yelled in surprise, then he fell backwards and landed on me. His eyes locked with mine then I heard Yoruichi laugh and my face went hot.

His head was on my lap that was only partly covered by the towel. He didn't seem to want to move at first, but he jumped up and scooted away from me. I turned away from him embarrassingly and sunk into the water. I felt a hand on my shoulder so I brought my eyes back above the water. Ichigo had put his hand on my shoulder, my face grew hot again.

'_Why am I being so shy? This is weird and so not like me'._ I gave him a smile and I stood up.

"I'm…going to go train. Wanna watch"? He nodded to me and I climbed out the water. He went to climb out and my face turned red again. He sank back down into the water and I walked around the corner of the rock face and found another towel. I threw it to him and he wrapped around his waist. I couldn't help it, but I stared as he got out the water. He had gotten well-muscled since I had first met him.

I caught myself drooling slightly and looked away with a fierce blush. He had seen me gawking and he rubbed the back of his head with his hand in embarrassment. I went to dry off and got dressed in my shihakusho and hakama. He was back in his outfit as well. I put my hands in the pockets of my hakama. I walked back to the training ground and turned to Ichigo.

I got serious.

"You've met your inner hollow already and now it's time for you to meet mine". I said out of the blue as Shiva materialized beside me, and gave a cocky grin to Ichigo.

"Sup. My name's Shiva". He looked at her then back to me. I put my hand on her shoulder and looked to Ichigo nonchalantly with a small grin on my lips.

"Shiva here is like a little sister to me. She's hyper, she makes trouble, she gets on my nerves like hell sometimes, but I trust her with my life". His face was shocked to say the least. "I'm going to show you a mock battle between me and Shiva. You will be able to see my abilities in bankai and my hollow forms".

Ichigo's POV

I looked at Dominique's hollow. She looked just like her, except with white skin and hair, that and her eyes were black and gold. And her shihakusho was the opposite of Dominique's. They both walked away from each other and stood facing each other. They pointed their swords at each other and shouted in unison.

"BANKAI"! Dominique stood there proudly in her bankai outfit just like she had earlier. They both stood there and grinned at each other like they had done this many times before. Then, they both charged. Dominique's speed shocked me, that must be the secret ability of our bankai. She and her hollow, Shiva, were nothing but black and white blurs of motion. I heard their blades collide several times and then they stopped. Dominique was on top of a large boulder and Shiva was on the ground.

"I guess I'll take this up a notch"! Dominique said excitedly. She put her hand to her face and red/black reiatsu emanated from her hand. Her eyes changed colors to black and gold and she stood there holding a hollow mask. It was the same one as the one that saved my life twice. That explains why she wasn't afraid of it when we saw it the first time in the underground passageway. She moved it from her face to the side of her head, just as I had done when I nearly became a hollow.

"Bout time Dominique. I was starting to get bored". Shiva said mockingly. Dominique grinned at her and laughed in her altered voice. The sound sent chills down my spine. Dominique grinned at her, and that even freaked me out. She looked like a whole different person than she had been earlier.

Her eyes were fiercer, and the way she stood was like that of a predator. She charged at Shiva and when the swords collided the resulting shockwave nearly sent me flying back. The amount of reiatsu was so high that it moved around the two of them like dancing flames. Dominique's was black and red, but Shiva's was white and red; complete opposites.

They became nothing but black and white blurs again as their speed picked up and they seemed to be in more than one place. It looked like there were nine or ten battles going on between the two.

"Getsugatensho"! I heard Dominique call out and a black energy filled the air. It was heading directly for Shiva; it was in the shape of a crescent moon. Shiva grinned.

"Getsugatensho". She calmly created her own white energized attack and caused a huge explosion that filled the area. In the midst of the explosion, I saw Dominique jump up onto a boulder further away. She stood there slightly panting, but grinning like a maniac. She looked down at me and wagged her eyebrows up and down. I couldn't help myself, but I grinned at her. Her eyes were fearsome, but they retained the Dominique that I knew.

"Ichigo. Now I'm gonna show you my other abilities". She closed her eyes in a calm expression and her reiatsu flared up and surrounded her like a black flame. When the black reiatsu disappeared she was standing there like a dragoness. Her skin had turned as white as Shiva's. She had claws instead of fingers and her feet were clawed.

There was a hollow hole right below her neck. She had large white wings and a long tail that both had the sapphire marking on them. In fact the marking traveled all the way down to her wrist. Her arms had blade-like horns on them that looked like wicked scythes.

Her eyes were colder and more calculating now. Her wings and tail twitched, then she raised her wings up into the air. With one stroke she was lifted up into the air herself. She circled over Shiva for a few seconds then she twisted her wings and plummeted down strait at her hollow at a shocking speed. Their swords collided and another explosion filled the space. When the dust cleared Dominique was in the air again and Shiva was on top of a boulder. Both had a wound that was bleeding.

"Heh, that's one for one". Shiva looked as if she was having fun. She then charged at Dominique and they collided over and over again. Dominique alternated from attacking with her sword, and claws. Dominique then flew up to the roof of the large cavern and then dived back down in an extreme plummet. Her dark reiatsu surrounded her and grew larger.

I watched as the black mass of reiatsu slammed into the ground. What was left standing there was a huge white and blue dragon with its jaws open in a feral sneer. The thing was huge! The dragon was completely white with blue marks trailing down it's thin limbs, body, tail and wings, except for the mask, which had red markings on it. I felt Dominique's presence enter my mind.

'_What do you think of my full hollow form Ich__igo'?_ I heard Dominique's voice sound in my head. _'I can't talk with my mouth now being a dragon's muzzle. But I now have the ability to communicate with anyone who is close to me with a mental link. Now, watch this! It's gonna be fun'!_ She reared her head back and opened her maw to let loose an earth shaking roar. Shiva stood there, unaffected.

"Are you done showing off to your boyfriend yet Dominique"? Dominique simply growled at her and then Shiva said, "O-o-o! How scary. The big bad lizard's gonna come get me. Hahahaha"! Dominique growled again and she opened her mouth. A huge blue light was coming from it. I felt her presence in my mind again.

'_CERO'! _She fired off the blast at Shiva. Shiva then pointed two fingers at Dominique's attack.

"CERO"! A beam of silver light shot from her fingers and was going right at Dominique's attack. The blast collided in midair, then Shiva and Dominique were left standing there, both burnt slightly from the blast. They both grinned at each other and started laughing. Dominique's laugh sounded strange in that form. It was deep and feral sounding. Shiva was the first to speak.

"Well, yet again another tie. That was fun though. Hey, Ichigo! You can come down now". Shiva called out to me. I jumped from the rock and walked up to them.

Dominique's whole dragon body shuddered once and seemed to disintegrate, she was left standing there in her bankai outfit. She looked at me with a happy expression, a pleased smile on her face. This kind of battle must be common for her. No wonder that when she fought hollows in Karakura she was always so calm, especially with the fight with the menos grande.

"Well? What do you think Ichigo"? She looked at me expectantly. I grinned at her.

"I now definitely know that you're stronger than me". She laughed happily at my joke. She then put her arm around Shiva's shoulders.

"What do you think of Shiva"? I thought about it for a moment.

"She seems alright to me. I had never thought that a soul reaper and a hollow could get along though, until today". She grinned at me.

"Well you're gonna have to deal with Hichigo now. I don't know how he will act but he may try to make you go insane. If he tries that then tell me. Trust me I've seen people who have inner hollows and don't deal with them appropriately". Her face got solemn. "They end up being devoured by their hollow or they seal their hollow away forever. Neither one is good, so that's why I have my friendship with Shiva. It makes us stronger. Now let's get some rest. Your training continues tomorrow. You can head on back Shiva". Shiva gave a mock salute before she stuck her blue tongue out at me.

"Otay! See ya later Strawberry! You and Dominique be good alright"! Shiva disappeared before I could give a retort. Dominique just laughed at that.

"Ya gotta love her! She's the most annoying person in the world, but that's what little sisters are supposed to do"! She continued to laugh and then she healed her wound on her side and the burns. I asked her how she could do that. "My friend Emma is much better at controlling her spirit energy. She learned how to do kido a while back while learning to use her powers. She then taught me a few things like simple attack moves and a few healing abilities. They've come in handy, especially lately".

_'She had learned these skills at such a young age. I wonder how she's been able to deal with it all. Or maybe it's just like she said; you get used to it after a while'. _ I sighed and followed after her to the upper room to rest for the night.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

The next morning Ichigo and I were warming up. Ichigo had his shihakusho off doing sit ups, and I was stretching my muscles. I did this so I wouldn't be caught staring at his well-muscled chest. He jumped up.

"Okay! All warmed up...hey where's Yoruichi? I want to get started already. Dominique, do you know where she is"? I shrugged my shoulder. I was still stretching, as he got his shihakusho back on I stopped. When Yoruichi finally got down here we started back with the training. This time I helped Zangetsu.

I gave Ichigo pointers when me and Zangetsu alternated between attacks. This would be good for him when he would face multiple opponents. I felt something ominous approaching. That was when I heard a loud crash and I saw Renji walking towards us, with his zanpakuto resting on his shoulder. I heard his voice.

"I was wondering what the three of you were doing down here. Is that your zanpakuto's true form? You're training for bankai in secret huh? Heh, sounds like fun. Can I join"? Renji asked. Ichigo looked at him in shock and I gripped my blade harder in case he attacked. He continued to talk though, "I know what you're thinking, "What are you doing here"? Well it's no big deal. There isn't much time left and I need to focus on my own training". I spoke up.

"What do you mean, not much time left"? He looked at me indifferently yet I saw the passion in his eyes. Something was wrong.

"Rukia's execution date has been changed again. They're going to execute her tomorrow at noon". All four of us looked at Renji with disbelieving looks. Renji continued, "I hate to say it, but I'm not strong enough yet. I won't get in your way so don't mind me. I'll just be doing my thing over here". He materialized his zanpakuto; a large white monkey with a snake for a tail was standing beside him. Yoruichi spoke up.

"To-tomorrow? But there's no way that Ichigo can achieve bankai by tomorrow". I heard a loud crash and saw that Ichigo had broken the sword that he was holding.

"Sure you wanna say that Yoruichi? This training was your idea after all. I refuse to let you give up". I nodded along with him. Yoruichi had a concerned look to her face.

"But Ichigo! If you don't achieve bankai by tomorrow...-". He cut her off.

"I told you already. I don't want to hear what happens if I fail. If tomorrow's the big day, then that means that I'll take care of it today"! He crushed the rest of the zanpakuto in his hands. I stepped forward.

"Have some faith in Zangetsu and me Yoruichi. We'll make sure he achieves bankai by tonight. We'll use all of our strength if we have to. We'll be ready for tomorrow, you'll see. Now Ichigo, let's get back to it". I changed into my bankai and stood beside Zangetsu.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

That night when Zangetsu and I were about to start the final battle Renji sheathed his sword and began to walk out. I didn't bother giving him a second look, because I was focused on Ichigo. Both Zangetsu and I used our special ability to create speed illusion copies. We had Ichigo surrounded. Zangetsu spoke up.

"Are you ready Ichigo? One last time. I warn you...we won't hold back, just because time is running out". Ichigo grinned at us.

"I know that! I never thought that either of you would go easy. I wouldn't let you if you tried"! I grinned at him. Then Zangetsu and I charged at him. We continued to fight for several long minutes. I called out something that would help him if he could figure it out.

"Where is Zangetsu Ichigo?! Where has Zangetsu always been? If you can figure out the meaning behind this question and find the answer to it then you will achieve bankai". He continued to fight, but you could see that he was thinking about what I said. He stood still after Zangetsu and I back off for a second. He closed his eyes and dropped the sword that he was holding. His reiatsu flared around him and the original Zangetsu appeared in his hands. He called out to me.

"Zangetsu lives within me, within both of us"! He then called out, "GETSUGATENSHO"! A huge blue energy blast came my way and I managed to block it with my own Getsugatensho. I nodded to him.

"Now that you know and have gotten the real Zangetsu, finish the battle". He focused and charged at Zangetsu. I moved out the way for him to do this last fight alone.

Zangetsu was giving his all and Ichigo put every ounce of energy into his attacks. He roared out and struck down. A bright light filled the air and when the light faded I looked at Ichigo. Zangetsu was gone. Ichigo stood there holding the black chained Tensa Zangetsu in his bankai outfit. I ran up to him and glomped him, successfully knocking him to the ground while continuing to hug him.

"You did it Ichigo! I knew you would"! Zangetsu had disappeared and went back into Ichigo's inner world. Yoruichi jumped down and joined us. She congratulated Ichigo and we went up to the upper room after we went into the hot spring to heal our wounds. Yoruichi found us some food and we chowed down. Then Yoruichi handed us two tentokens.

She told us that they would let us fly without using flash step. That way I didn't have to use my half hollow form to fly up there. She gave Ichigo the appropriate bandages and stuff for his arms and chest since the hot spring could only do so much. He had a bandage on his face and some sort of wrapping type thing on his left arm. It wrapped around his arm in a way that looked similar to my own sapphire markings that appeared on my arms when I change into my half hollow form. We slept and waited for the next dawn; the day of rescue was almost upon us.

Emma's POV: Elsewhere in the Seireitei

"Shuan,... hey Shuan…WAKE UP"! My boyfriend finally woke up with a start. We needed to get moving. I had felt Dominique's full hollow reiatsu in the air. It was extremely faint as if it was being hidden, but I had known it for so long I could track it for miles and wouldn't have a problem.

"What? …Hey, that's Dominique's reiatsu isn't it"? I nodded and stood up. We had made it to the heart of the Seireitei a few hours ago. We had seen several sites that showed the struggles and battles that were fought there.

We decided to not go after Dominique and decided to find Orihime's, Chad's, and Uryu's reiatsu. She was the leader of our group, Captain Rose and Sero didn't choose her for nothing. I may have been the best at controlling reiatsu and Shuan being the best at hakuda but Dominique was the best at zanjutsu fighting, though she was well rounded in the other fields as well.

We had gotten thrown further back after we had gotten through the barrier. It had taken us two days to move through the corridors, avoid detection and gather the information we needed. We had felt several battles take place throughout the Seireitei. We had to fight every now and again ourselves ,but we only encountered weaklings.

When dawn broke we found felt a strong reiatsu rushing towards us. What we saw was a large man with spiky black hair that had a little girl with pink hair on his shoulders and…Orihime?

They stopped when they saw us. It took a while, but we settled things out. Shuan told me that Dominique was most likely with Ichigo. So if we followed this group we would find Ichigo, Dominique, and Yoruichi. We rushed down the different alleyways, but unfortunately we most of the time came up to a dead end. This was going to take a long time.

Dominique's POV: Underneath Sokyoku Hill

Dawn had come. I sparred with Ichigo to get him to master using the Getsugatensho and show him some hakuda moves. By the time we were done he had learned to unleash it at will. I put my hair back up and took off my shihakusho. The less I had to carry the better. I only wore my shozoku top and the tentoken.

Noon was soon upon us. We were all strapped up in our battle gear and we took off into the air using the tentokens. Yoruichi would come to help out in a little. We flew off into the midday sky to face the upcoming battles.

Me: Whew! Chapter 10 is done! (Gives the nice guy thumbs up)

Shiva: Hehe. You look like a dork doing that. Just like bushy brows and bushy brow sensei.

Me: Shut up Shiva haven't you already hummiliated me enough for one chapter?

Shiva: Nope.

Me: (Growl) Now for the goodbye theme! Oh and next chapter will be much better. I hoped you readers liked this one.

Invincible by Adelitas Way

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	11. The Blade of Fate

Me: Yo! Next chapter people. And it's a long one. My longest yet. (wink!)

SeasprayLuv: Hey!

Me: Guys this is my friend from school. She's here with me today to do the disclaimer.

SeasprayLuv: She owns nothing but her Oc characters and I own nothing but my Oc character Nami and her brother.

Shiva: Yo bird girl.

Me: Shiva, be nice.

Shiva: Why?

SeasprayLuv: She's just joking. We do this all the time isn't that right albino chick.

Shiva: Yep.

Me: (Sigh) Enjoy the chapter people!

**Chapter 11:** **The Blade of Fate**

Dominique's POV

We felt a ripple go through the air. Then an extreme heat filled the sky along with a massive amount of reiatsu. We got over the hill in time to see a huge mass of flames turn into a giant flaming phoenix. I saw Rukia held up high on a huge scaffold. The giant firebird was going to impale her! Both Ichigo and I shunpoed as fast as we could to where Rukia was. I grabbed my Zangetsu to undo the cloth, Ichigo did the same with his.

Just as the huge bird was about to hit Rukia, both me and Ichigo blocked its massive beak with our zanpakutos. The flames were intense but the tentoken capes protected us. Rukia had her eyes closed as if in defeat. She opened them as if to see if she was dead or not. She looked at us with a shocked look.

"I-Ichigo? Dominique"? Both Ichigo and I grinned at her.

"Hey". We both said at the same time. She opened her mouth as if to say something then she closed it again. That was when the yelling started.

"You fools! Why did you come back?"! Ichigo flinched back. I mentally sighed in irritation. Some people were just so damn ungrateful to their heros.

"Wh-what"? Ichigo studdered in shock. Rukia looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"You can't beat my brother. This time he'll kill you for sure! I've made my peace with death! GO AWAY"! I sighed and looked at her calmly.

"Rukia. Stop worrying so much. Ichigo's stronger now, he's gonna kick Byakuya's ass. Not to mention that we're going to save you". That's when I turned to Ichigo, "I think we cut it a little close, don'tcha think"? That's when I felt the pressure on my back increase. Both Ichigo and I cried out in surprise. The giant firebird screeched and backed up as if to attack again. Ichigo and I turned to the firebird and poised to attack. Ichigo grinned.

"Backing up for your second strike heh"? He said with a grin on his face. I continued the sentence.

"Bring it on Tweety Bird"! I was grinning too. He looked at me questioningly, I merely shook my head with a grin on my face; this was going to be fun. Rukia was yelling though.

"Stop! Don't do this! You won't be able to stop the Sokyoku a second time! It'll tear both of you to pieces! Dominique, Ichigo"! The Sokyoku began to fly forward, Ichigo and myself also zoomed through the air.

Then something seemed to fly up and wrap around its neck. I looked down to the ground and saw that three soul reapers had wrapped something around the Sokyoku's neck. It was the white haired captain from the bridge; Ukitake!

_'Ha! So I guess not all soul reapers aren't complete morons'._ I thought, smirking to myself.

Then one of the other captains who was wearing a pink woman's kimono went up beside him and they talked for a short second. Apparently they seemed to be helping us, and I wasn't about to complain. They drew their swords and stabbed into the thing that held the rope that was tied to the Sokyoku's neck. The black ropes turned white and then when it hit the Sokyoku, it exploded.

The soul reapers on the ground ducked for cover. Ichigo and I flew back to the scaffold to get ready for the next part of our plan. They'd just made our job easier.

"Ichigo! Get ready to grab her"! I started to swing my Zangetsu in the air above my head using the hilt cloth. Ichigo ducked down and stood at the ready. Rukia was yelling at me, asking me what I was doing.

"What does it look like? I'm gonna wreck the scaffold. Get ready-". Rukia cut me off.

"What! You're insane! Listen the scaffold is-"! Ichigo cut her off.

"Relax Rukia. Just shut up and watch". He said calmly as he looked up at me. I stopped swinging Zangetsu, grabbed the hilt, and charged it with my reiatsu. I turned the blade, stabbed into the scaffold, and sent the energy surging through the antient wood. The energy was so high that it not only made a hole through the scaffold, but ground beneath it too.

_'Okay, umm, I think I overdid that a little'._ I thought a bit nervously, Rose might not like me destroying old stuff in the Soul Society, I hope she didn't mind this. When the smoke and dust cleared Ichigo was standing with Rukia held to his side like a rag doll, with his Zangetsu resting on his shoulder in a relaxed position.

"Quit telling us to leave you alone. I told you, I'm rejecting your protest. This is my second try, and this time we're going to save you Rukia". Ichigo said as he smiled at me. She scrunched her eyes in sadness.

"Don't expect me to thank either of you,...fools". I jumped beside Ichigo holding my Zangetsu like him.

"Fine then Rukia". Ichigo said.

"Didn't expect you to". I said as I grinned at her. Rukia looked down at the captains and lieutenants.

"So Dominique, Ichigo, what do you plan to do now? The both of you are hopelessly outnumbered, you can't just disappear". Ichigo spoke up.

"Run away". She looked at him like he was nuts.

"B-but that's crazy! There're captains down there. There's no way that-"! I cut her off.

"We'll kick their asses, then run away". I said obviously with a lazy grin on my face. Ichigo would have to do the running though while I kicked some ass. He was no where near ready to fight several captains at once. Ichigo then spoke up.

"We also have to save, Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Shuan, Emma, Hanataro, and Ganju. We have to get all of the people who helped us and get out of here". He had a confident grin on his face. That's when I heard a loud crash, a huff, and a heavy thud. I looked down at the ground and saw Renji on the plateau. He looked up at us. I grinned.

"Lookiloo! It's pineapple head"! I leaned off the scaffold and pointed like a five year old. Ichigo laughed. Renji looked up at the sound of my outburst.

"RUKIA"! His face was one of relief. Rukia called out in joy.

"Renji! Thank goodness, you're alive"! Ichigo called out to Renji and hoisted Rukia by her sash up into the air. Ichigo had a sly look to his face. He reared back on one leg like he was going to throw her. Rukia was freaking out, "Hey-hey, Ichigo! What are you doing"! He had a huge grin on his face.

"CATCH"! He threw her down at hypersonic speed. She screamed so loud that I think that the whole Soul Society could hear it. Renji was just able to catch her and they were sent careening back several dozen feet. They even rolled like tires.

_'Nice. Point for Ichigo on that one'._ I thought appreciatively at his awesome idea. When both of them got up they started yelling insults to Ichigo. He ignored them and yelled down to them.

"Don't just stand there! Get her out of here! I'm leaving her to you. Protect her with your life"! Renji's eyes filled with understanding, he gripped Rukia close to him, and started running back the way he came. A few seconds later I saw three lieutenants begin to go after Renji and Rukia. I nodded to Ichigo and shunpoed down there first.

I turned my zanpakuto downward and stabbed it into the ground, Ichigo did the same. One of them was big and ugly, one was French looking, and the other was a woman who didn't look like she wanted to fight.

"Out of our way"! The big one yelled at me. They called out to their zanpakutos. The big one said, "Crush, Gegetsuburi"! His zanpakuto turned into a giant spiked ball.

"Bite, Gonryomaru"! The French dude called out and his blade turned into one that looked more like it was used for fencing instead of fighting. The girl stepped forward.

"Run, Itegumo"! Her blade split into three at the base of the hilt guard. Just as the big one was about to attack me; Ichigo punched right through his zanpakuto and sent him flying. I used that distraction to land a massive hit to the French dudes face with my foot. Then I turned around, hit the girl in the chest with the palm of my hand, and made sure not to use too much power doing so. I didn't hit her as hard as I'd done to the French dude.

When all three of them were flying I felt another reiatsu approaching us. It was Byakuya's energy. Right on time.

"Ichigo". I warned in a calm voice, not even looking to where he was coming from..

"Yeah". He answered. I watched as Ichigo grabbed his zanpakuto and blocked Byakuya's blade with ease.

"We meet again, Byakuya Kuchiki". Ichigo had a wicked grin on his face, but Byakuya's face was as passive as ever.

"Why do you insist on trying to save Rukia"? I turned and saw the people that we knocked out. Just before I walked off, I looked at Ichigo.

"Kick that noble's ass". He huffed in agreement and I knew Ichigo would be able to handle this fight on his own for now. I rushed over to the unconscious people and hoisted them up onto my back with my strength. I began to move them out of the soon to be battle ground. I heard someone yelling.

"Isane"! Then some one else started shouting.

"Wait Kiyone! Captain Kuchiki's fighting! You'll be killed if you get too close! UGH-"! I turned back to where the voices were coming from and saw that a captain with short black hair tied back in two braids had attacked one of her own men. Then she went after the girl. Ukitake tried to get to them, but he was stopped by the really old looking captain.

_'That must be him. Old Man Yama'._ I thought to myself. The head captain of the thirteen court guard squads, and the biggest, oldest, fart ever. I'd never seen him before, but I'd heard plenty about him from Rose. The other captain who had helped Ukitake came up behind him and they both shunpoed off of Sokyoku Hill. Old Man Yama looked after them with a dark look to his face. Then he shunpoed off as well.

The girl captain threw the girl who's name was Kiyone onto the ground and stepped on her chest. I put the three lieutenants down and rushed at the captain. She was most likely going to kill the girl. I won't have anyone killed, especially not one who helped us.

I rushed at her and caught her off guard. I grabbed her shihakusho at the collar and used it to push her into the air. We were sent plummeting off the cliff of Sokyoku Hill, and heading into the forest below. She looked at me in rage and surprise, I merely grinned at her.

"Who are you"? I grinned and released her just before we hit the ground, to land lightly on a tree. We were in an area that was filled with huge trees. This would be the perfect fighting ground for me.

_'Perfect'._ I thought to myself. I stood still with my zanpakuto in my hand, the wind blowing my tentoken cape behind me. She stood up and looked at me coldly.

"Who are you ryoka"? She repeated. I stood there with a grin.

"The name's Dominique Kudo". She looked at me with cold eyes.

"I'm Soi Fon, supreme commander of the stealth force and the punishment force, and captain of squad 2". I merely took off my tentoken and stood at the ready. She looked at me in surprise. She asked, "Where did you get that shozoku top"?

"I got it from a friend. Now I really don't want to fight you, but let me guess, you're not going to let me leave without a fight are you"? She merely nodded her head and charged at me. Her speed rivaled Shuan's. I wasn't able to keep up at first, because it had been a while since I had faught at this speed. I chastised myself for getting rusty on my lack of practice. I landed a kick though and jumped back to land on a tree. She grinned at me.

"You have no hope of defeating me. You seem to be a soul reaper of average strength and speed". I growled at her and raised my blade up to point at her. If there was one thing that pissed me off more than anything else, it was someone underestimating me in anyway.

"BANKAI"! My dark reiatsu engulfed me and I stood there in my bankai uniform. I would show her my true speed. She looked at me in confusion.

"That is your bankai. It's pathetic looking". I shunpoed behind her faster than the blink of an eye. I crouched low to the ground, then I lunged and punched her, sending her flying.

"Call my Tensa Zangetsu pathetic again and next time I'll hit you with **it** instead of my fist". She stood up, shocked from my speed. I gave her a dark look and I threw my blade into the wood at my feet and shunpoed behind her. I said, "You better watch yourself now. My speed has increased ten fold, not to mention, I was holding back earlier". I said in a sweet voice. She looked at me and went to block my kick.

I disappeared again and reappeared beside her. I landed a kick to her side and sent her flying again. I landed back where I stuck my Tensa Zangetsu in the tree.

She stood up again and gave me a dark look. She moved her hand to her sword. She unsheathed it and stabbed it into the wood in front of her. The next thing I knew was that I was surrounded by men with either bald heads or covered in completely black. They all stood with their arms behind their backs as if in respect. Soi Fon grinned at me.

"When the commander of the punishment force bares her sword, it signifies an execution. Anyone who opposes me will be destroyed utterly". I was about to attack them with my Phantom Clone Illusion technique, but then they were all sent flying before I could do anything. Then Yoruichi stood beside me with a grin on her face. Soi Fon looked at her in shock, "Yoruichi Shihoin, The Goddess of Flash"? Yoruichi looked at me.

"Go to Ichigo. I'll handle this fight myself". She turned back to Soi Fon and I turned my back on them as I changed into my half hollow form. I could practically sense the tension between these two in the air. Soi Fon looked at me in shock. Yoruichi grinned and said, "Well she's not called the Ryu Hime (Dragon Princess) for nothing". I rolled my eyes at her nickname for me and took off into the air.

I pumped my wings to fly over Sokyoku Hill and landed on the edge of it. I stood at the base of the scaffold, beside the hole that I had blasted through it. I folded my wings against my back and watched as Ichigo clashed with Byakuya again and again.

He was holding his own with the captain. He was using some of my own moves that I had shown him. Twisting and turning as his opponent came at him. Ichigo was using a mixture of speed and power, it was a really good thing he mastered shunpo.

They clashed again and they both landed on upturned rocks a good distance from each other. Ichigo placed his Zangetsu on his shoulder and had a cocky grin on his face. They talked for a short minute; I couldn't hear them and it irritated me. I debated whether or not to move closer.

Ichigo's face became serious. Byakuya raised his blade to his face and released his zanpakuto. It disappeared in a flurry of pink petals. I watched as Ichigo released a Getsugatensho and the explosion filled the area. When the dust cleared I saw Byakuya's hand bleeding and Ichigo left a huge gash in the rock in front of him. I couldn't help but shunpo closer so I would be able to hear. I listened to their conversation.

"Is that your zanpakuto's power, Ichigo Kurosaki"? Ichigo looked at him with a smile on his face.

"Yeah. At the moment of attack it consumes my own energy, and fires a super high concentration of reiatsu from the tip of the blade. Then the attack is magnified and discharged. That's Zangetsu's power. I haven't been able to do it at will until today. Dominique and Zangetsu were the ones who taught me how to use Zangetsu. The attack is called Getsugatensho". Byakuya looked at him with indifference. Ichigo then said, "Release your bankai. I'll crush it"! Byakuya merely looked at him.

"Piercer of the heavens uh? Well then…feast your eyes on my bankai". He let go of his sword and it seemed to sink into the ground as if the rock was made of water, causing a ripple to move through the ground. Ichigo had a confused look on his face. Byakuya said, "Don't worry. You won't regret it. You'll be gone before you can regret anything. Like dust in the wind. Bankai, Senbon Zakura Kageyoshi".

Huge blades came from the ground and then they blew apart in a mass of pink petals. They were everywhere. One had ended up floating to me. I caught it with my clawed hand and when I opened my hand the petal flew away, but it was covered in blood. I looked at my hand and my palm had a shallow cut on it before it healed itself; the blood was dripping off my hand. The petals were blades, and there were thousands if not millions of them!

I looked back up and saw that Ichigo had shunpoed into the air. The petals were coming at him in masses. He shot a Getsugatensho at Byakuya, but the petals flew up and blocked the blast completely. The petals flew around Ichigo and surrounded him, but he turned around and blocked them with his blade. They went around behind him again; cutting him where they came in contact with his skin.

Then he was pounded to the ground in a huge mass of pink petals, they hit the ground with such force that it created a huge crater in the ground, with Ichigo in the center of it. Byakuya walked up to the crater.

"Senbon Zakura is an attack by millions of blades coming from all directions. Your zanpakuto is powerful, but you'll never evade my Senbon Zakura with a big slow move like that". I jumped up into the air and saw that Ichigo was dripping with blood. But he was alive at least and he was getting up. He was panting with the effort.

"Darn it. I thought I could go a little farther. But I guess I was wrong. I was stupid to think I could beat a bankai with a shikai". Byakuya's eyes hardened and he looked down on Ichigo's rising form.

"Watch what you say boy. You make it sound as if you've achieved bankai". Ichigo was mostly standing now with a grin on his face.

"Yah, that's exactly what I'm saying Byakuya Kuchiki". Byakuya's face turned to one of shock.

"What"? Ichigo gripped his Zangetsu tightly in his hand.

"You heard me. I hate repeating myself. Even if you can't believe it, I'm nowhere near finished Byakuya Kuchiki! Take a good look, this is, my bankai"! He got into a fighting stance and his reiatsu increased dramatically. Byakuya had a stubborn look to his face. Ichigo shoved his blade forward at Byakuya and the hilt wrap wrapped itself around his arm.

_'This is it'._ I thought excitedly. He gripped his Zangetsu with both of his hands, and his reiatsu filled the air.

"BANKAI"! The energy that came from him was massive. It was like being inside of a tornado and the reason for that was because he didn't know how to contain it yet or even control the energy flow yet. When the smoke cleared, Ichigo was standing there proudly with his black blade. He even called out his blade's name for added effect, "Tensa Zangetsu". Byakuya looked at him in surprise.

"What is that? Is that little thing your bankai? It's an ordinary zanpakuto. Now I see, first the execution ceremony, and now bankai. It seems you enjoy treading on things we hold sacred! Then I shall cut you down. You'll soon know the price of insulting our honor"! The next thing I knew, Ichigo was standing right in front of Byakuya with the tip of Tensa Zangetsu at his throat.

"If your so called honor demands that you kill Rukia. If that's the case, then stepping on your honor is the reason I achieved bankai"! He had backed away and stood with his blade still pointing at Byakuya. For an akward moment, Byakuya couldn't move; he just looked at Ichigo in mild shock.

"Why did you withdraw your blade from my throat? Was it overconfidence? Arrogance destroys the footholds of victory. However, that move of yours is not bankai. No bankai could be that miserable. A ryoka like you could never achieve bankai. You'll regret not slitting my throat when you had the chance. You only get one miracle per battle. You'll get no second chance boy"! Byakuya's face actually looked pissed.

The blades came at Ichigo like lightning. Just as they were about to hit him, he became an orange-black blur. Byakuya would make the blades come at Ichigo, but he would always dodge them. Soon Byakuya became confused as to why he wasn't hitting Ichigo. Then Ichigo became a mass of blurs.

'_Ohmygosh! He's using the Speed Phantom Illusion! Yay"! _ I stood there with pride filling my chest. It looked like there were at least twenty Ichigo's running around Byakuya. It was incomplete, but very good for his first time. Senbon Zakura's petals were surrounding Byakuya instead of going after Ichigo. He was on the defensive. I heard Ichigo laugh.

"What's wrong? Can't keep up. I can still get faster though". Byakuya moved his hand and pointed it at Ichigo.

I wouldn't get carried away if I were you boy"! Ichigo's eyes went wide and he shunpoed up into the air. The petals had flown up and surrounded him. Just as they were about to hit their mark Ichigo used his blade and seemed to swat them all away. Byakuya continued to look up at Ichigo in shock, but Ichigo had already come up behind him.

"You said I could only have one miracle". Ichigo had his blade up on his shoulder casually. Then he said, "Then what's this"? He stabbed forward and blood spattered to the ground. Byakuya had turned around just in time to stop the blade. The blood came from his now sliced hand.

"I see. By focusing all of your bankai's power into that small blade, you can fight at maximum force at super high speed. So that's your bankai's secret ability. Very well, then I'll simply crush that power and you along with it"! Okay wow, he looked really pissed now. He had actual determination in his eyes. He gripped Ichigo's blade harder and more blood spilled from his hand. Ichigo pulled back and shunpoed a dozen feet backward.

Byakuya had his head bowed downward and he held his body in a stiff stance. He then said, "Behold, this is the true form of Senbon Zakura Kageyoshi when it has abandoned all defense and dedicated itself to only killing the enemy". The petals flew to him, surrounded, and formed a thousand blades that surrounded the two of them, like death pillars. He said, "Senkei Senbon Zakura Kageyoshi".

"What the hell"? Ichigo's eyes were wide with fear.

"Don't be afraid. This funeral column of a thousand blades won't strike you all at once. Senkei is only shown to those I have sworn to kill by my own hand". He raised one of his hands up and a pink blade flew to his hand and he caught it. He then said, "Your only the second person to see it". Ichigo grinned at him nervously.

"I feel special". They stared at each other, daring the other to make the first move.

"Are you ready, Ichigo Kurosaki"? They both shunpoed at the same time and charged at each other. The resulting explosion from their clash was fierce. I noticed several slight reiatsu close by; Orihime's, Chad's, Ganju's, and...I could hardly feel it at all but Uryu's. It was as if he had lost his powers. Nah, he must be hiding his reiatsu from detection.

I turned back to the battle. They clashed again and again. I noticed something, Ichigo's speed was going down! I should have known that he wouldn't be able to keep up the pace of battle in bankai for long. He should have finished it when he had the chance.

_'Idiot! You don't waste time in battle unless you have the power to back it up'._ I saw the determination in both their eyes. Ichigo's face started to show worry. Then Byakuya's blade was at the bridge of his nose. Ichigo was just able to dodge the worst of the damage, but his cheek had been sliced. He looked back and then Byakuya was behind him about to stab him. Ichigo reacted just in time to block the blade.

"What's wrong Ichigo Kurosaki. You're slowing down". Ichigo laughed at him stubbornly.

"Think so? Looks like I'm still fast enough to block your sword". Byakuya looked back and a blade flew down to his empty left hand. He stabbed Ichigo's foot.

_'What the hell! That's a dirty move! Cheater'!_ Ichigo gasped in pain through his teeth. Byakuya lifted two fingers from his sword.

"Hado number 4, Byakurai". He put his fingers to Ichigo's right shoulder and then a huge blast of electricity shot from Ichigo's shoulder. I stood where I was in shock, but I went to move forward..

I went to lunge forward to save Ichigo, but I found that I couldn't move. All I could do was stare ahead, in frozen silence, and see that Ichigo's eyes had gone wide with the shock of the pain. Byakuya pulled his sword from Ichigo's foot and Ichigo slumped forward, but managed to remain standing. He didn't seem to be able to move either. I tried to move again, but I felt it now why I couldn't move,

Shiva was stopping me. She had locked all of my muscles down.

_'Shiva! WHAT THE FRIGGEN HELL! Why won't you let me go save Ichigo'?_

_'Hichigo's going to save him. I sense him. He's going to take control'._ She said calmly, but seriously at the same time. I stood there in shock, but relaxed. Byakuya looked down on Ichigo.

"You've reached your limit Ichigo Kurosaki". Ichigo looked up at Byakuya, blood dripping down his face.

"What did you say"? Ichigo's body tensed up. Shiva was right, Hichigo was about to take over. I sensed his presence just undernieth the surface of Ichigo's own power.

"You think that Senkei increased my speed. Not true. Senkei is used to harden the blades into the shape of a sword, and explosively increase their lethalness. My speed did not change". Ichigo looked down in shock.

"You mean I just got slower"? Byakuya's eyes filled with some sort of emotion, pity I think.

"You fought well. You defeated captains and lieutenants. You survived a blast from Senbon Zakura. You did well to survive this long. But can't you feel it. No matter how hard you try you're already a corpse. This is as far as you go. It's over. Ichigo Kurosaki". He raised his sword up into the air. Ichigo's eyes went from wide with fear to determination. Then they closed and I felt his reiatsu change.

Hichigo took over just as Byakuya's blade was about to slice through Ichigo. He moved his hand upward and caught the blade in his hand.

"Fool. I told you, if you die I'm in trouble". Hichigo spoke through Ichigo's mouth. Ichigo's mask was forming on his face. His right eye was completely covered and a sadistic smile stretched across his face. Byakuya looked at him in shock.

"What? Who are you"? Hichigo merely raised his head to look at Byakuya dead on in the face.

"I have no name". Hichigo said with an evil smirk.

_'Well at least to Byakuya's knowledge'. _I thought_._ Hichigo raised Tensa Zangetsu and slashed Byakuya down his chest. Byakuya jumped back , releasing his grip on the blade in his hand and blood gushed from the wound. Hichigo's laughter filled the air with its metalic ring.

"You're no good at all Ichigo! Every bone in your body is creaking from the weight of your own power. Tch! Pathetic! But I'll show you, how to use bankai"! I watched as he brought the pink blade closer to his body.

He crushed the blade in his hand and blood splattered to the ground. Hichigo rushed at Byakuya, who had raised his arm, and another sword flew into his hand. Hichigo raised his arm and black reiatsu surrounded his sword. He slashed forward and a black Getsugatensho shot from the blade.

Byakuya looked shocked, then Hichigo appeared at his side and sent another Getsugatensho at him. Byakuya went to block it, but then Hichigo was right behind him. A huge explosion of red/black reiatsu filled the sky. I had to brace myself just to not get thrown off the hill from the wind. When the dust cleared Byakuya was standing there, bloodied and panting in exhaustion. Hichigo had a grin on his face.

"That mask. Are you a hollow"? Byakuya asked. Hichigo merely grinned at him, the hollows mask growing by the second.

"Who knows? For you anyway, the answer is irrelevant". Just then I felt Ichigo's reiatsu rise up in anger. His left hand shot up and grabbed the hollow mask. I looked at Byakuya, he and I had the same expression of surprise on our faces. Ichigo began to take back control. Hichigo roared out, "N-no! Leggo! You're the one who's interfering! Don't you understand? If you leave this to me we can win! NO! NO! STOP YOU FOOL! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"! Ichigo pulled the mask off and he was himself again. He stood there panting, trying to catch his breath. When Ichigo looked up his face was locked in a snarling grimace.

"Sorry for the interruption". He smiled, raised his sword up and said, "Okay lets start over". Byakuya's eyes filled with knowing and he actually smiled.

"Very well. I won't ask who that was. Neither of us has much strength left. Let the next clash decide this battle". Ichigo looked at him.

"Fine. But I'll ask you one more time. Why didn't you try to save Rukia"? Byakuya moved his hand forward.

"If you defeat me, then I will tell you. Senbon Zakura Kageyoshi Shukei Hakuteiken". He was surrounded by white reiatsu that was tipped with a white blade and fanned out like a pair of wings. Ichigo looked in awe.

"Wow. Sorry, but I don't have any awesome moves like yours. The only move I've learned was the Getsugatensho. The only thing I can do is channel all my power into one blow. Now, are you ready, Byakuya Kuchiki"? He was surrounded by his reiatsu, but something unusual happened. It wasn't red/black like normal, instead it was colored blue/black. I was confused how his reiatsu had suddenly changed colors.

They pointed their swords forward and charged. I closed my wings around me and braced myself. The resulting explosion shook the ground. I kept still for a moment and then I saw them when I changed back to normal, my hollow form desintegrating around me. They were faced away from each other.

Ichigo's head was slumped, then blood gushed out his right shoulder and splattered to the ground. He stabbed his sword into the ground and used it to support himself. I looked at Byakuya just in time to see blood gush from his chest. He swayed and nearly fell forward. He looked at his hand.

"You wanted to know why I didn't try to save Rukia. Lawbreakers must face justice. They must be punished according to their crimes. That is the law". Ichigo turned towards him.

"You were gonna kill her to uphold the law? Your own sister"? Byakuya stayed turned away from him.

"Sympathy for one's own kin is unworthy". Ichigo looked at him like he was an idiot. Byakuya said, "Family devotion is nothing next to the law. The Kuchikis are one of the four great noble houses. We have to set an example for all soul reapers". He looked at Ichigo and said, "If we don't uphold the law, who will"? Ichigo looked at Byakuya with a look that he didn't understand what he said.

"Sorry. I still don't get it. If I were in your shoes, I'd fight the law". Ichigo's face was full of determination and defiance. Byakuya looked at him like he was a different person, then he began to walk away.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, your ferocity has broken my sword. I will pursue Rukia no more. The battle is yours". He shunpoed away. Ichigo stood there for a minute. Looking at the spot where Byakuya had been a moment ago.

"I won? I won". He reared back in joy and shouted, "I WON! Whoa! I can barely stand". He was about to fall backwards and I rushed over to catch him. He landed heavily on me and I rested him on the ground with his head in my lap.

I smiled at him and kissed him upside down like in the Spider Man movies. I saw Orihime, Chad, Uryu, and Ganju run up to us. Everyone but Orihime was covered in bandages. I rested Ichigo's head back into my lap and started to work on the more serious wounds.

Orihime helped and soon we had him almost completely healed. We got questioned on why we had the same bankai. I laughed and told them that Zangetsu had chosen us both as his wielders. I left out the rest of the information. They didn't need to know about our hollows. We got off of Sokyoku Hill and began to make our way to Renji.

Ichigo and I remained in our bankai forms in case of an emergency. He led us and I kept up the rear of the group. We were trying to navigate through the walkways of the Seireitei, but we kept comming to dead ends. And while doing this Emma and Shuan found us. They had explained to us what had happened to them since we separated.

We continued to run down the Seireitei streets when I felt a mind link open. I stopped and everyone else did too. Apparently everyone else could hear the link. I listened to the message.

_"All captains and lutenants of the thirteen court guard squads, and all ryoka. This is Isane Kotetsu of squad 4. Hear my words. This is an urgent message from Captain Retsu Unohana of squad 4 and myself. What I'm about to tell you is the truth"._ Each of us listened to the message intently.

There was a captain that had faked his own death, murdered the central 46, and nearly killed another captain and lutenant. Had two other captains with him and betrayed the Soul Society. He was the one who had plotted Rukia's execution, and he was now on Sokyoku Hill. When the message finished I felt the mind link disappear. I looked at the others. I was the first to speak.

"I guess we're not in trouble anymore". I felt something go through the air and then I felt Renji's reiatsu back on Sokyoku Hill. I said seriously, "Guys, did you feel that"? Most of them nodded. I spoke up again, "Renji's back on Sokyoku Hill. I've got a bad feeling about this. Emma, Shuan, I leave the groups safety to you two. I'm going on ahead. Ichigo, get there as fast as you can. Those who don't know about this, I'll explain later".

I summoned just my wings and took off towards Sokyoku Hill. I made it there in half a minute. I changed back to normal in midair and landed beside Renji who was still gripping Rukia but was injured badly. I noticed three people on the hill with us. There was a dark skinned man with captain level reiatsu, a man with glasses and a calm serene smile that I instantly didn't trust, and...Gin Ichimaru! I turned to the smiling brown haired man with glasses.

"Who are you"? The dude smiled at me and I felt the need to slap the shit out of him.

"You are one of the ryoka, am I correct"? I scoffed.

"Yah. What of it"? He continued to smile at me and I was getting more ticked by the second.

"If you don't mind, I am in need of miss Kuchiki over there and young Abarai won't listen". I looked at him darkly.

"Why did you plan out Rukia's execution"? His face looked surprised, then he smiled creepily. The next think I knew, he was right beside me. He murmured something that sounded like, "Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu". Then my vision blurred, as if somthing was messing with my vision.

_'What the hell'?_ I jumped to the side just in time to dodge that sword of his. I sensed something from it that creeped me out. I charged at him and he merely disappeared again. I used my speed to keep ahead of his blade, but he seemed to be keeping up with me. Then he was right in front of me and slashed my chest with his zanpakuto.

Agonizing pain ripped through me and I fell to the ground in a heap. I looked up to see him looking down on me. I bared my teeth at him and growled as I tried to get back up.

"What the hell! How can you disappear like that"? I snarled through my teeth. He merely smiled at me.

"Don't try to get up. You'll only shorten your life. I'm surprised your still conscious. You're will to live is impressive". I could feel the blood gushing from the wound on my chest onto the ground, and pooling around me. He'd hit organs, I could feel it; a lung for sure, cause blood kept coming from my mouth, and I had to spit to keep from choking on it.

_'Yuck'. _ I thought randomly.

The bastard went to attack Renji and I continued to try to get up, willing my body to freaking move. Just as he was about to cut Renji down, Ichigo appeared and blocked his sword with his own blade.

"Hey I thought I'd give you a hand Renji...where's Dominique"? He said while looking around in confusion. I called out his name in joy even though blood continued to dribble down my lips. I spit again to clear my mouth of the offending liquid. He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes and his eyes filled with hate as he looked back at the man who's blade he was blocking. He saw the blood on it, my blood and Renji's.

"Dominique"! He paused before looking back at Renji. He slashed at the man and he jumped back a dozen feet or so. Ichigo asked Renji, "Is that Aizen"?

"Yes". Renji answered. Ichigo looked at him and then to me. I was still trying to get up, but the wound was more severe than I thought. The pain wasn't what kept me down though, I'd delt with worse pain. I felt my body reacting to the massive amount of bloodloss.

"Can you run Renji"? Ichigo had his eyes on Rukia's quivering form.

"I can, but I won't". Ichigo started yelling. But Renji spoke up, "I have a plan. Zabimaru may be broken, but he still has a few tricks up his sleeve. I'm going to fight. You know as well as I do that there's no point in running away. I'm not saying we can beat them, but maybe we can stun them, and walk out of here with some pride". Ichigo looked at him.

"Heh. Okay then, I guess were a team"! They looked ahead determinedly at Aizen. Renji used a technique that utilized his broken Zabimaru and then Ichigo charged at Aizen. I watched as Aizen blocked Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu with only his finger and then he slashed Ichigo's stomach.

My eyes went wide as I saw Ichigo cut nearly in half. He fell to the ground and then Aizen disappeared and appeared behind Renji and then his shoulder spurted blood as he fell to the ground. My body became numb and my vision turned completely red as I felt myself fall into a black abyss.

Ichigo's POV

I couldn't move my body. Dominique had been hurt by that bastard, Renji too. That's when I felt a huge, heavy wave of reiatsu fill the area. I looked up and saw Dominique standing up, her chest was dripping blood. Her bankai top was nearly torn in half, showing the blue fabric that bound her chest beneath it. But then white goop seemed to flow out of the wound and soon the skin was completely healed.

Her head was bent down, but I knew something was wrong. Her hands were curled at her sides and her sword on the ground. She looked up and I watched as her eyes changed from her normal bluish green ones to pure silver. Then black started to snake it's way across her eyes and her irises turned gold.

Her eyes were different than before, there wasn't humor, calm, or seriousness, just plain hate and rage, the sight made my blood run cold. Her teeth were bared in a silent snarl. Four of her teeth seemed to grow into fangs, like that of a cat or a dog.

Half of her hollow mask appeared on her face and her face was twisted into one of rage, her long teeth still showing as she lowered into a semi-crouch. The strange thing was that her mask looked like a semi-flat version of her full hollow mask as it appeared on her face. It had a horn on the top and the fact that her mask was still slowly forming.

Her reiatsu was rolling off of her in suffocating waves, it was so strong that her hair and clothes were being blown around her as if she was in a tornado. Her hands were at her sides; fingers curled into claws. Her reiatsu was even stronger than what Kenpachi's had felt before. His had felt as if there was a blade at my throat, this felt like there were swords pointing at every point on my body.

I hadn't thought she had this much power. She threw her head back and let out a feral screech that filled the air; making shivers run up my spine.

She looked at Tosen and she disappeared, he was just able to block her blade, which had somehow gotten back into her hand. She screeched a growl at him and sent him flying backwards. She went after Gin and knocked him into the ground so hard it made a crater. Her body moved in such ways that I'd never seen, twisting and turning in a terrifying wild dance.

She twisted in midair and landed on the ground silently. She stopped and looked at Aizen, but he had moved and was walking towards me; a smile still on his face. I tried to get up, but I couldn't move.

She disappeared and then she was standing in front of me. She had her blade in her hand, pointing it at Aizen, as if daring him to come closer. Her reiatsu got heavier and I tried to call her name. Aizen had stopped and was staring at her with a smile on his face. She didn't seem to listen to me. I knew that something was wrong. I reached up and grabbed her ankle. I immediately felt another presence in my head, it was Shiva.

_'She's lost control! You have to find a way to calm her down! I'm just able to keep her from attacking you and everyone in the area, but I can't hold out forever. If we don't get her calmed down soon she'll kill everyone'!_ She sounded worried. I gripped Dominique's ankle tighter, and brought myself closer to her. I grimmanced from the pain.

"Dominique, stop! Look at me"! She turned to me and raised her hand as if she was going to attack me, a glowing blue light was coming from her palm. Her face was contorted in a feral snarl, half covered by her strange mask, and I heard a growl ripping from her throat. I looked at her, trying to keep the fear from my face. She looked at me for a second and then her eyes went wide and her left hand moved up to cover her masked half of her face.

Her sword dropped from her hand, she staggered away from me and her face changed to one of horror. Her one visible eye had tears brimming on the edges.

"I-Ichigo...I, I..."! Her voice was changing from hollified to normal. Tears streamed down her face. She looked at me in horror and sadness. "I'm...Ichigo...I'm...I'm so sorry". Her mask shattered, her eyes changed back to normal, and she collapsed onto the ground in front of me. She changed back out of her bankia. I was just able to get myself closer to her. I had my arms around her.

Her face had gone back to normal when she became unconscious. I looked up and Aizen was watching us. I glared death daggers at him. He only continued to smile as he walked to Rukia. I watched as the other two captains got back up and walked forward to Aizen. He picked her Rukia up by that red collar thing that was around her neck.

"Your part in all of this is over". He said in my direction. I glared at him.

"My...part"? I said uncertainly.

"I knew you'd be coming. I even knew from where. That's why I had the wall put up and Gin's and Kaname's men posted inside waiting for you. The only way left in for you was Kukaku's Flower Crane Cannon. Your arrival was spectacular and your group fighting and winning even against captains had every soul reaper looking for you. The death of a captain even lost it's publicity. You made things easy for me". He said to me.

"But how did you know we arrived in the West Rukon"? I asked, confused as to how he got this knowlege.

"Urahara of course. The West Rukon is his base of opperations." He explained.

"What"? How did he know about Urahara?

"That surprises you? You do work for him, don't you? Didn't you come to rescue Rukia on Kisuke's orders"?

"What? You, how"? I couldn't believe it.

"Oh? Then you weren't told. Ah, well...I suppose that I can tell you. Now that it's all over. Are you aware that soul reapers have four basic combat methods? There is Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kido. Each of these requires a certain level of power. But all too soon, one encounters a wall at which his own potential limits his growth to which is impossible to pass. All soul reapers have these limits, but there is one way to surpass these walls. It's called hollification". He said with a smile.

_'Dominique'._ I immediately thought as I tightened my grip on her. Aizen then began to explain about how he made hollows with soul reaper abilities, but then found out about the Hogyoku. A device created by Urahara that he tried to seal within Rukia to keep it safe.

He turned back to Rukia but then a huge wolf captain appeared behind him and attacked him with a huge sword. Aizen merely blocked it with one hand. The captain tried to call out bankai but then Aizen was right in front of him and spoke.

"Hado 90. Kurohitsugi". A huge black box surrounded the captain and when it disappeared the captain fell to the ground in a bloody heap.

_'They're both captain class. How can they be so unequal in strength'?_ I thought. And then Aizen went back to Gin and picked Rukia up again and activated some sort of device. Then he stabbed her in her chest with his hand.

"No"! I called out. Aizen pulled a small glowing orb from Rukia's chest and she fell to the ground. The hole that he had made in her chest dissappeared. Then he picked her back up again and told Gin to kill her. Gin called out his zanpakuto.

"Alright. Shoot'em dead, Shinso". His zanpakuto shot out; aimed at Rukia. Just when I thought that Rukia was about to be killed, she was snatched out the way. I saw her in Byakuya's arms; he took the hit for her. My face was one of shock. The sword pulled out of him and he fell to the ground; holding Rukia. He passed out and Rukia was trying to hold him up, calling his name and trying to ask him why he saved her. Aizen began walking towards them.

He went to grab his own sword, but then he had a sword at his throat and I saw Yoruichi with another woman stopping him from drawing his blade. Soon we were surrounded by soul reaper captains and lutenants. When it seemed like they had captured the traitors, three huge beams of light surrounded them. The people that had stopped the three ex-captains, backed off as they escaped. The sky was ripped open and I saw at least ten or more menos grande in the sky rift.

The three ex-captains were lifted up and the menos grande took them into the portal. Aizen took off his glasses, smashed them, and pushed his hair back. He looked down at the rest of us.

"From now on I will stand atop the heavens. Goodbye soul reapers. Goodbye ryoka boy and girl. You two were interesting for humans". The sky rift closed and then everyone was a mass of blurs. There were people trying to heal the injured, and I watched as Orihime, Chad, Emma, Shuan, Uryu, and Ganju ran up to us.

Orihime started to heal me and Emma started on Dominique. She thankfully didn't have to do much. She looked at me questioningly and I simply nodded my head, even though I didn't really know what had happened to her. Shuan and Emma's eyes went wide as they looked at each other.

Emma pulled what looked like a cell phone out her pocket and dialed some number. She walked off and talked urgently into the phone and then came back to us as I was healing. Dominique was still unconscious; her face emotionless.

I watched as a female captain walked up to where Byakuya was on the ground. She started healing him and then he told Rukia that his late wife had been Rukia's older sister; Hisana, and told her why he had done what he'd done. He asked Rukia to forgive him for not trying to protect her. He even told me thank you. I couldn't help but smile sadly to myself.

When I was mostly healed I stood up, picked up Dominique, and carried her on my back. She hung there, limp.

I released my bankai and carried Dominique to squad 4 where we were greeted by Hanataro. He led us to an area of the barracks where we could rest and recuperate in relative peace. Ganju had gone back home, Orihime and Emma shared a room. Shuan, Chad and Uryu shared one and I was with Dominique.

She still hadn't woken up and I refused to leave her side. Captain Unohana told me that she would sleep for the rest of the night most likely. She had used up a huge amount of spirit energy. Dominique just had to rest for now. Captain Unohana made me leave though when she had to get Dominique out of her bloody clothes and she put a pink kimono on her.

I went back into the room and watched her sleep. She seemed so peaceful now. I remembered her face when she went against Aizen. She had been filled with so much rage. She would every now and again move in her sleep. She would whisper out my name, her face pained. I moved closer to her and grabbed her hand.

She seemed to calm down and sleep soundly again. Soon night had fallen and people came to visit. Yoruichi, Chad, Uryu, Emma, Shuan, and even Hanataro. Soon it was late; Dominique didn't seem to be waking up any time soon so I walked outside to sit on the roof.

Dominique's POV

I was laying in darkness. It was so cold. I tried to move my arms or even just open my eyes, but I couldn't seem to find them. I tried to find Shiva, but I couldn't hear anything. I felt so alone, I tried to call out to Ichigo, but I couldn't tell if it worked or not. But then I felt something; my hand, and something warm was touching it.

The warm feeling left and I fought to open my eyes and when I did, I was in a dark room on a bed. There was a window beside me and I turned my head to look outside. I was definitely still in the Soul Society but what had happened that I ended up here? I tried to remember what had happened before I was in the darkness, but pain shot through my head and I stopped. I heard something.

'_Well bout time you woke up. I was starting to get worried about you'._ Shiva said in my mind. I decided to speak out loud.

"Yah...what happened"? She materialized outside my mind and she sat beside me in a bored fashion. She leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs with her arms resting on the back of it.

"You lost control and almost went vasto lorde. You went psycho when you saw Ichigo get nearly cut in half. You were so messed up that you nearly attacked him, but thankfully you turned back to normal and then you passed out due to using up way to much reiatsu way too fast with both your gentei reiins still on. You missed the part where Aizen, Gin, and that dark skinned captain named Tosen escaped. Ichigo carried you here to the squad 4 barracks and he's currently outside now". Well I could feel that. It was hard not to notice his reiatsu. I moved my legs to the side of my bed and noticed for the first time that I was not in my normal clothes. I was wearing a woman's kimono, pink at that.

"Okay, where in the hell are my clothes, and why in the hell am I wearing pink"? Shiva merely laughed at my dismay and went back inside of my head so I wouldn't be able to hit her. I sighed and stood up. Well at least the clothes were easy to move in. The sleeves were super long and the dress trailed the ground somewhat.

I went to the door and saw my zanpakuto braced up against the wall. I grabbed it and put it back on by back with the red chain. It felt good to have my Zangetsu there again. The familiar wieght of my sword on my back was comforting.

I opened the door and walked out into the hallway. Everything was quiet, but the lights were on. I followed Ichigo's reiatsu to an outside garden. I looked around, but he wasn't there. I knew he was on the roof. I crouched low to the ground, jumped up onto the nearby roof, and saw Ichigo with his back turned to me; looking at the moon. I walked up to him and sat at his side.

He jumped when he saw me and I put my finger to my mouth to make him keep his mouth shut. He quieted down and I leaned up against him. We sat like that in silence; staring at each other's faces. I leaned forward and hugged him around his waist.

"I'm sorry you had to see that side of me Ichigo. That sort of thing has only ever happened three times before. When I'm like that...I'm a monster". I was ashamed that I still hadn't gained control over that form enough to use it in normal combat. I chided myself for my weakness. He hugged me tighter to him and whispered in my ear.

"It's alright Dominique. Shiva explained. I was just scared that you were hurt, and you are not a monster, never forget that". He leaned down and kissed me in earnest. I returned the kiss and soon we were full blown making out. I was so happy that he accepted me for who I was, even if he didn't know everything. It was time for a subject change, so I broke unhappily from our kiss.

"You've gotten stronger. Your fight with Byakuya was awesome. Hichigo even got some action". He looked at me in surprise. I said, "I think this is the perfect time for you to see my inner world". I grabbed his hand and opened a full mental link, dragging him and myself into my inner world.

I opened my eyes to the familiar and beautiful landscape that made up the forest. I had appeared by the memory tree and at least now I was in my regular outfit.

I searched for Ichigo's reiatsu and found it some distance away. Shiva joined up with me just before I found him, the both of us jumping from tree branch to tree branch. He was standing in the same meadow that I had fought Shirozangetsu all those years ago. I noticed that neither Hichigo, nor Zangetsu were with him, weird.

I ran up to Ichigo and tackle hugged him, making us both fall to the ground. We both started laughing.

"So this is your inner world. Man, it's the exact opposite from mine. It's beautiful". I giggled and motioned him to follow me and Shiva. I jumped up on a branch in one of the trees and Ichigo followed. I laughed and jumped from branch to branch. He was having trouble keeping up, and I laughed even harder.

He was obviously not used to moving like a ninja. Soon we were at the center of the forest, at the memory tree. I motioned for Ichigo to go through the hole in the tree, and to start walking down the stairs to the lake.

He stared in shock at the underground lake before him as we stood on the ledge. I turned around to look at him. I grinned at him, did a mock salute, and fell over backwards off the rock outcropping, plummetting the hundred feet into the water. I was soon joined by Shiva who sunk to the bottom and landed on the sand with grace.

I called her a showoff and she merely grinned up at me as she swam away from me. Ichigo soon jumped and landed in the water. He floated down and held his breath. I laughed, short burst of bubbles escaping my mouth as I did so.

"You can breath down here you know. Just like your inner world, the laws of physics don't apply. Relax and have fun". I swam around him tauntingly, blowing bubbles out my mouth. He took in a cautious breath and let out a sigh of relief. I giggled and he joined me in swimming. I said, "This is the memory lake, or at least that's what I call it. If you want to you can look at any memory I, Shiva, or Shirozangetsu have ever had. Just think of a question and open your mind". He stopped and looked at me, asking me for permission.

I nodded happily as I rested crosslegged on the sand. He closed his eyes and I closed mine as well. I saw what he saw and he saw what I saw. He watched the first fight between me and Shirozangetsu. I winced as I heard the bone in my back crunch from the blow of my body being thrown against the tree.

I felt him wince as my shoulder was slashed open and blood oozed from it. And he felt shock as he watched me loose control for the first time, even if it wasn't as bad as when I went vasto lorde. I really hoped that he wouldn't ask about that. He watched as I held the tip of Zangetsu to his throat and then regain control. He watched some of my training and when I first met Shiva.

He saw me train my friends since I had been the first to learn of our shadow shinigami powers. How I became the leader of the group. And he found a set of memories that were different, my squad 0 training days. The first day I met Rose, the day I joined the academy, the classes, switching between the three of us so it would still look like I was living a normal life.

He watched as I became section leader of my group of five people. How every now and again we were selected for missions and we would have to travel around to keep hollows under control and find new people who had talents so they might join squad 0. I was ranked high among squad 0, but I was nothing compared to the seated officers, especially the two captains.

I shook his shoulder to get him out of the memories. He was so into watching the memories that it took a minute before he relized what was happening.

"We should head back now. Dawn will soon be coming". I said as I reached for his hand. He grabbed my hand and we stood up. I let go and jumped up and out of the water. He followed and we landed on the rock outcropping that hung over the water. We landed and he looked at himself, noticing that he was completely dry. I giggled and said, "How was that"? He laughed and smiled at me.

"Definitely interesting. I had no clue about squad 0. You didn't even mention it earlier. But I see why though. Not many people know about it and that's how it should stay. But man, a whole nother realm where the squad members learn, train, and live. Sounds fun". I grabbed his hand and released the mind link. I opened my eyes and was met with a dark purple sky. The sun was going to come up soon. I gripped Ichigo's hand and we walked to my room. I sat on the bed and he sat beside me.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"NO WAY I'M NEVER FIGHTING YOU AGAIN"! Ichigo yelled out as he jumped through the window to get away from Kenpachi. We had been sparring with the squad 11 members...that is until Kenpachi came in.

Kenpachi started running after him, trying to get him to fight full out again. I simply stood there and laughed. I grabbed up Ichigo's zanpakuto, thinking how careless of him to leave it behind. I jumped out the window and walked down the street in search of him. I wasn't really looking but I walked down the streets slowly, just enjoying the moment, tracking him by his spiritual pressure. When I found him; he was muttering to himself.

"Ow...my legs hurt. Stupid Kenpachi chasing me like that. His reiatsu sure's scary. I still can't believe I beat him". He paused, reaching up for his Zangetsu, and noticing that it wasn't there.

_'Hehe'._ I laughed in my head.

"Uh-oh. Crap. I left Zangetsu back there". He said as he began to turn around, only to find me standing there with his blade held over my left shoulder.

"It's a good thing I'm here then". I said as I tossed him his zanpakuto.

"Oh! Thanks". He said while scratching the back of his head in embarassment. I snickered.

That was when Orihime ran up to us saying that she couldn't find Rukia anywhere in the Seireitei. The three of us began looking for her. I felt Renji's and Byakuya's reiatsu in a building. Ichigo ran up the side of the building, jumped onto the windowsill, and yelled.

"RENJI"! I jumped up there and clonked him on the head.

"You baka. You don't just go barging into someone's room like that. Oh, Renji, do you happen to know where Rukia is"? I asked casually. He looked at me in shock.

"Did something happen to her"? I shook my head. That was when Orihime climbed up beside me.

"Ichigo, Dominique, you shouldn't enter buildings through third story windows". I deadpanned at her. Ichigo did the same. Ichigo was the first to speak.

"Orihime, how did you get up here"? Ichigo moved her to his back so we could jump without her getting hurt. Ichigo then said, "Sorry Renji, Byakuya, see ya"! He dropped from the window. I nodded.

"Bye Renji, Captain Kuchiki". I would have called him Byakuya myself but he had put his hand to his chin in thought. Byakuya then looked at me as I was about to jump myself.

"Is he going to keep calling me by my first name"? I shrugged and jumped with a laugh. We were running down another street when I heard someone yelling; it was Rangiku Matsumoto, the lutenient of squad 10.

"Ichigo, Dominique, Orihime! What about you guys? I got some good sake"! Ichigo was the first to speak.

"Oh! Maybe later"! Orihime yelled with her arms crossed over her head.

"We're underage"! I laughed at all the antics.

"No thanks"! I yelled back, I personally didn't want alcohol. This was fun. Ichigo told us that he knew where Rukia was. He led us to the Rukon District and we were able to find Kukaku's house. We saw Rukia cleaning up her face. She had acquired a bloody nose, but how...I don't really care to know. She told us that she had decided to stay in the Soul Society.

We all went back to the Seireitei to rest and to enjoy ourselves. We had two days before we could go through the Senkaimon. I had talked with Orihime about Ichigo and how I was sorry if I had offended her. She admited to liking him and we had one of those heart felt moments that were extremely akward and embarrasing, but in the end it all got cleared up.

I was freaking relieved that I'd dealt with that little matter. One less worry on my back.

Later on that day I was walking down one of the Seireitei streets just for the heck of it. Night was about to fall soon, so I was heading back to the squad 4 barracks. That's when I saw a black butterfly fly through the air. One of the Soul Society's hell butterflys. It came up to me and I stuck out my finger so It could land. I immediately got a message.

'_Please report to the captain's meeting room. Follow the hell butterfly. You are being asked to be present at a meeting by the authorization of Rose Reirei; captain of squad 0'._ The message cut off and the hell butterfly flew ahead. I looked around and sighed. Rose was here, I guessed that Emma or Shuan had called her. Oh well, we'd get things cleared up soon.

Rose could talk her way out of any situation. I made my wings appear and followed the hell butterfly to the huge building where the captains held their meetings. I saw all the squad captains, at least those captains who were still here. I changed back before I came into their view.

I walked through the doors in my normal form and saw Rose standing beside Head Captain Yamamoto. She had light brown hair, pulled up in a ponytail, and bright blue eyes. She wore a normal soul reaper uniform but her haori was inverted and white on the outside with the markings on the inside. A bright red rose was braided into her hair. Her Hitarosu hung from her obi sash held loosly by a small cord. She was grinning at me.

"I know you did it, now tell me where the body is". I deadpanned and she cracked up. The rest of the captains were giving us weird looks and I was laughing myself now at yet another one of Rose's random question jokes.

"I buried it at under the tree. Hehe. It's good to see you again Rose". She grinned even wider at me and then she looked at Yamamoto.

"This is Dominique Kudo. One of my squad members, and section leaders. The other two members; Shuan and Emma serve under her. Dominique, show them your badge". I had actually forgotten about that thing.

_'Maybe showing that would have saved me some trouble here'._ She had gotten it sewn on the inside of my sleeve like all the other section leaders. It was the squad's flower; a rose. I had never needed to use it before. I turned my shihakusho sleeve outward and showed the black rose imbedded on the white background of my inner sleeve. Rose then spoke up.

"This is the flower badge of squad 0, it proves that she and the others are under my protection and pardoned of all Soul Society laws. Now Dominique, you may leave and go hang with the rest of the crew for now. I'll deal with Old Man Yama here, and get things cleared up". I walked out the meeting room and shupoed back to the squad 4 barracks. Just in a matter of days we would be heading home.

Me: Wow, man this was long. I hoped you people liked it! Rose has officialy entered the story, Sero will join in soon. Aizen, the traitor bastard got away. But that's what the truth or dare stories are for. Tortureing his ass! Sigh, man this took forever. Lemon chapter is in chapter 13. Younger readers no read the lemony part if you cant'!

SeasprayLuv: My Oc's chapter is coming up next.

Me: Right. Some character's will be leaving and some new ones will be coming. Things are changing and trust me, the battle has only just begun.

Shiva: W-o-w. That was lame sounding. How cliche.

Me: SHUT UP!

SeasprayLuv: HAHAHAHAHA!

Hipnotized by Pillar

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	12. Enter!  Nami Kurosaki!

Me: I'm bored so I'm a get strait to the chase. I own nothing, but my lovely imagination. Sorry it took so long, please do not come after me with pitch forks and torches. Please don't worry, you will be rewarded.

**Chapter 12: Enter! Nami Kurosaki!**

Dominique's POV:

I was sitting in my room when Rose entered; I had been staring up at the night sky. She looked pissed. Which was very strange for my hyperactive captain.

"Rose. What's wrong"? She looked at me and then she pointed her thumb past her shoulder.

"It's that Old Man Yamamoto, the old fart. He really pisses me off sometimes. He called our squad nothin' but a bunch of half dead humans who do nothing but get into trouble". I let out a sharp growl. If there was one thing that shadow shinigami hated was for soul reapers to look down on us because of how we were born.

"I swear. This is why shadow shinigami don't get along well with normal soul reapers. The vizards are perfect examples, though hiding don't solve nothing either". I sighed and Rose sat on the floor cross-legged. I was remembering my time training with the vizards when Rose spoke up.

"I heard you got injured during the battle". She looked at me with a rare seriousl expression. I nodded in embarrassment while I scratched the back of my head before sighing and looking at her while keeping my face turned to the window.

"Yes. I didn't release my gentei reign. I hadn't expected him to have that sort of power. His messed up zanpakuto cheats. Next time I see that bastard, I won't hold back an ounce of power". She grinned at me as I growled. She then looked over at Ichigo.

"You also lost control didn't you"? She asked casually. I mentally cursed.

"Yeah". She laughed. The last time I had lost control was when I fought her for the first time in my vasto lorde form. Let me tell you; not friggen pleseant.

"Who stopped you this time"? I blushed.

"Ichigo". She laughed.

"So you and that kid Ichigo huh"? I blushed furiously and nodded. She busted out laughing and said, "Good for you! I knew you'd find someone someday. He even happens to be a shadow shinigami, bonus". I looked at her happily in agreement. Ichigo was knocked out asleep on his bed what with all the sparring and hectic stuff going on, he was bound to be wiped out. She stood up.

"Are you going back to the barracks"? I asked.

"Yeah. Oh wait. I'm assigning you and your section to Karakura. I know that things will start to get livelier around here so I want you here to teach Ichigo about squad 0 and to train him. There's just not enough time to get him in the Shadow Academy so I leave him in your experienced hands". She stepped forward and stabbed her Hitarosu into the air, causing the shadows in the room to swirl around her blade as she called out the opening command.

The gate opened and I saw lieutenants Zork Hakai Suru, and Kozo Shikei. They waved at me and I smiled at them. Rose stepped through the gate and I also saw Sero materialize. Sero looked from Ichigo to me and she opened her mouth as if to say something. Rose Gibb slapped her on the head and gave her an evil grin. Then the gate closed.

I laughed and thought of the times I watched Rose and Sero fight. They were always loud, explosive, and funny as hell. I jumped up on my bed and knocked out for the night.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

We were on Sokyoku Hill at the official Senkaimon. We were met by several faces. We said our goodbyes and we were seen off with smiles. Who knew that my first trip to the Soul Society would have been this hectic and yet fun at the same time. Just goes to show that you don't know what the hell's going to happen when you travle.

Just before we left; Ukitake gave something to Ichigo. I didn't know what it was but it must have been something important. As we stepped into the light of the Senkaimon we ended back in the Dangai tunnel.

"WHY! Why do we have to come through this way again? I thought this was the official Senkaimon! Shouldn't this be like a safe route or something or are they just skrewing with us"? Ichigo yelled at Yoruichi who was now in her feline form again.

"We'd each need a hell butterfly to travle the safe way. Only soul reapers can handle hell butterflys"! That ment that Chad, Orihime, and Uryu wouldn't be able to use them. She was right of course.

_'Sucks for them'._ I thought to myself. I didn't mention though that Emma, Shuan, and I all had hell butterflies of our own. They were assigned to us when we first joined squad 0. So I just looked away and kept my mouth shut as we ran back towards home.

_**Meanwhile, in the World of the Living; three days ago...**_

Nami's POV:

I hugged myself against the icy daggers that the cold wind was driving deep into my skin, trying to use a tree for some cover. My eyes closed so tightly that it hurt. It was so cold, was it winter or something? I thought it was supposed to be freak'n summer in the World of the Living for pete's sake! I felt a heavy shiver roll through my battered body. It must have been that last hollow I faced. It had been an ice type and it must have changed the weather with one of it's attacks before I killed it.

"Not good…" I managed to rasp out underneath my breath. All the air inside my lungs felt heavy and sticky. Sleet started cutting away at my over exposed skin. Cold, wet, hungry, and probably dying… I just stared out at the gray world laid out before me; the wind pulling at my hair that was tied up in its usual bun.

So this was the World of the Living.

What a harsh, unforgiving, blood-thirsty, and unkind place. Still...safer than my home, the Soul Society. The one place I should be. I let my mind wander back home to my tiny cabin, safely nestled away in the forest, but surely a place like that no longer existed. You see, when I was back at home there were a lot of people who wanted to hurt me, and still do.

My brother said it's because we're different. The Rukon children said it's because we're freaks. Because I'm different, which is a nice way of admitting to myself that I am a freak, and that people want me to die. Well, that's one reason at least. Sometimes, I wanted them to kill me as well, and then I remembered what I said to him as I watched him die...my brother.

"I won't give up… I swear it on my soul". If only keeping my promise was as easy as saying it.

Ah, but I'm all alone now, with my freak DNA and my 'different' levels of spirit energy. All alone because my brother was murdered. By myself because my father simply vanished. Into thin air, even. In all reality, I would abandon me too. I'm a monster, but not by choice I assure you… it's my pedigree. I'm a one-of-a-kind breed, half soul reaper and half bount.

My mother, a bount, got pregnant with me and my brother before her affliction rendered her body barren. She died for it. She took her last breath as my brother was pulled from her womb. At times, I wonder if that's why our father left us at all. He couldn't stand living so close to the ones who killed his beloved, I think. I've only seen him a few times, and all of those were in pictures.

My name is Nami, and I'm what I call an Angel. The last one of us now that my brother was gone.

_'Soon, there will be no more Angels, because there will be no more me'._ I thought morosely, a heavy cough rattling my once powerful frame. My wings, wrapped up in their bandages, ached to stretch and soar. I hadn't flown for a long time, because they'd been injured and I hadn't the time or spare energy to heal them.

_'I'm so thin, my clothes all but fall off when I move. My shihakusho is almost completely torn to shreds, while my hiori was destryed long ago. I can't believe I'm so weak now'. _ All I had the energy and power to do right now was just to keep my chocolate brown eyes open. I was on the verge of sleep… perhaps even death… when I heard something.

My eyes shot open, growing wide with terror. The last thing I ran into, that ice hollow, had nearly killed me. I was caught off guard last time and paid dearly for it. I would not make the same mistake twice. I coughed again, blood peppering my pale, boney hand. I felt another presence close to me.

"Who's there?" The air in my lungs wouldn't come out right; it made crackling and popping noises that I didn't want to hear. Something was off, I turned my back away from the tree to try and see through the sleet. It was a moment before I felt a warm breath on the back of my neck, followed by wet droplets.

I pulled together all the energy I had left, I whipped my body around, and came eye to eye with a big, grotesque, not to mention, just plain nasty looking hollow. I didn't scream. There was no time to even try. I pulled out my zanpakuto, and stared at the spider-like creature. He cocked his head to the side, much like a confused puppy, his mask a permanent, acidic glare.

"Are you dead"? He asked, poking at me with a sharp, spindly finger. It spoke again, "You sure look dead. Smell dead too. Well, are you"? His eyes never changed as he looked me over like a rare delicacy. "Are you dead, strange little soul reaper girl"?

"No…" I whispered, unable to guess what I was supposed to say. This hollow wasn't very smart from the looks of it.

"Silly little reaper… you may not be now, but you will be soon"! He jumped at me lightning fast; using sonido.

_'So, it's going to be a fight then'?_ I drew my zanpakuto, holding it at a dangerous angle.

"Orora Tenshi"! I felt the reiatsu from the surrounding area surround me and flow through my veins. The sleet stopped mid air as my sword grew from a small katana into an enormous, intricate ax, looking too long for me, but perfectly balanced at the same time. My reiatsu creating a shield around me; protecting me from the sleet. We charged each other, a huge explosion of light blasting through the park that I had taken refuge in.

A thousand poorly aimed slashes flew from my hands as my Orora Tenshi sliced through the air. I jumped at him, throwing my whole weight behind the blade, and using the momentum to propell myself into the air.. I flew over him, putting my blade deep into his body.

Black blood oozed from the wound. He howled as I used the blade to fling myself back into his path, slashing at his thin body. I pulled off a neat spin-flip; planting both heels of my stealth force flats in his skull, using the handles on my zanpakuto to keep it in my grip. He staggered back and threw an array of well aimed stingers right toward my poorly protected body.

My ax flung its self up to block the deadly projectiles. One whizzed past my face, leaving a tiny trail of blood. The sharp ax blade glowed in the dim light as I struggled to catch my breath.

_'As red as blood'. _I shook my head, trying to shake off the disturbing thought. Something snapped in the back of my mind, like a memory trying to break through, but only leaving behind the feelings with none of the information. I felt a shaken laugh tumble off of my chapped lips, but why … well, I wasn't sure.

Suddenly a sob caught in my throat, and pictures of my brother dying in a pool of his own blood filled my mind; I could still see it dance slowly across the smooth, stone floors of the room of our squad. The squad that didn't officially or unofficially exist. My squad...our squad; squad 14. I felt another out of place laugh bubble and explode into existence. The hollow was slowly backing away, looking at me now with a strange expression. Fear, maybe.

"Are you going to kill me"? My voice came out happy and excited. I was scared. The laughter had stopped as abruptly as it started, started again, and then fizzled out. I took the blade, and started to spin it, using the handle to control it's motion. The glow faded from the blade as I pulled the energy into my body, I then settled into my stance. Another cough, more blood on the ground.

_'More blood. I can taste it... it's so bitter...rust and salt'._ Fury ran through me; hot and burning. All the pain and fear from the past year raged into my mind.

"Are you"? I screamed as I ran at the shrieking hollow. His pincer like legs shot toward me, paper thin cuts finding their way across my skin.

_'Red, red, red! More red! Why can't anything be blue, or green'?_ My blade spun so fast it picked me up off the ground. I let it fly, using my reiatsu so that it found its way through the hollow's eye hole. Black blood seeped from his eye.

_'Red and black, are those the only colors left in my soon to be over life'?_ I dropped on the now downed hollow, suddenly feeling tired and cold. I nearly fell; my body giving out from the hardships from the past few weeks.

A red glow grew inside his mouth. A cero. It suddenly dawned on me that a cero like the one he was building up wasn't one I would probably survive. I was frozen in place, too scared to even turn away. I pulled my zanpakuto out of his mask as I barely jumped out of the way. The cero electrified the air around me, making me fall to the ground, writhing in pain.

"You are going to be a most delectable dinner, you impudent little witch". His teeth snapped in the air close to my face as he prepared to blast me. I tried to roll away, but my foot got caught in one of the craters we had made in the fight, pinned under a fallen rock. There was no way to dodge! I threw my hands up over my face, not wanting to watch his sharp teeth take off my head, or to see the bright light of a cero to the face.

A loud shriek drowned out every other sound sense I owned. Then silence. No sound, no feeling, no smell, no taste of molten metal blood. I squeezed my eyes tighter together, thinking I was dead. For a moment, I was naïve enough to believe it. Only for a moment though. Another cough rattled my body, nearly turning my lungs inside out. Blood dribbled out of the corner of my mouth. I opened my eyes a little, wondering what exactly had just happened. The first thing that met my eyes was him.

He looked at me with shadowed eyes; hidden by a green and white stripped hat. His blond hair sticking up from under it. I could only look at his face; my brown eyes looked into his gray ones. He had a curious but concerned look on his face. My first thought that he was human and he must see some sort of hole, but then I felt his reiatsu. It nearly knocked the breath out of me once it registered.

I instantly felt fear from this man even though I hate to admit it, the back of my mind was saying; _'he's attractive'._ What a stupid thought at a time like this. I tried to move, but my foot was still stuck under the rock. He started reaching for me me and I panicked.

I yanked my foot from under the rock and I heard a snap as the bone shattered but I still managed to shunpo off into a nearby tree. I didn't know where the energy came from, but I leaned against the tree; waiting for an attack, my hand on my Orora Tenshi. It had gone back to it's sealed state.

"Hey, girl, you shouldn't resist you know. You'll only make things worse for yourself. Now stop fighting and come with me". My head jerked around in time to see a small boy with bright red hair looking at me curiously. At that moment, everything went black.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I couldn't move, but I could tell I was being carried; gently. I hate to admit it, but it felt so nice. I then heard a deep voice.

"Jinta, what did you do to the poor girl"? The person who must have been Jinta spoke up defensively.

"I didn't do anything to her. She saw me and she fainted. It wasn't my fault". I then heard a voice that was calm and more soothing than I'd ever heard before.

"Now, now. Hand her here. We need to heal her wounds and get her some food when she wakes up. Hopefully the others will be back soon if they were successful. Now let's get this girl a safe place to rest. Her ankle is broken; Miss Orihime can fix her up when she gets back". I felt myself being handed to the owner of the soothing voice.

I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn't respond. I felt a pair of lips by my ear, and what I think was...facial hair that was making my cheeks itch. The voice said, "Don't worry. You're safe now". I for some odd reason, I trusted him, whoever he was. I drifted off into true uncociousness blissfully.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

When I started to come to, I felt extremely stiff but well rested. I noticed how warm it was, it was so nice. My eyes slowly opened to a dark room. There was light coming from between the shades of the window. I didn't want to move at first, but being the person I am I moved my arms under me to sit up. I then noticed the heaviness of my left leg.

I moved the cover off of me and at first noticed the silver uh...pants and shirt that was on my slender body, they were comfortable and loose, but fit me well. I then looked down at my leg and saw that underneath the pants it was wrapped in bandages. I looked at other countless bandages about my body.

My light brown hair was down, flowing down my back in uneven waves, like the sea. I saw the two ivory chopsticks that I normally had in my hair right beside me, as well as my zanpakuto in it's gold colored sheith. I picked up my zanpakuto, I knew my blade's name but I had never even talked with it once. All I knew was that my blade had a familiar feel to it and that was it.

My memories were so muddled after I was attacked and dumped in the World of the Living. I put down my zanpakuto again by a bowl of food and a cup of water that I noticed beside me. I grabbed the bowl and used the wooden chopsticks in it to scarf down the delicious food. When I finished that I chugged down the water. I leaned my head back, patted my still caved in stomach, and sighed in contentment for the first amount of food I've had in days.

I felt a presence approaching and my body automatically tensed up. The door slowly opened and I saw a little black haired girl stick her head in the door to look at me curiously. She had a sad look to her face. She then left and shut the door behind her.

I sat up and waited for whatever was coming for me, my hands at the ready to use my zanpakuto to defend myself if needed. When the door opened again it was that man who I saw before. This time I noticed that he had a green coat on and an old fashioned outfit with clogs.

_'Green...so much green...pretty'._ His eyes were hidden in the shadow of his hat, but he was smiling warmly at me. I blushed for some odd reason. He spoke up; so he was the owner of that soothing voice.

"Hello. My name is Kisuke Urahara. What might be your name"? He had a humorous look to his face as if he was flirting. In his hand he opened a paper fan which he lifted to his face.

"Nami". He looked at me in confusion.

"Do you have a last name…family perhaps"? I shook my head.

"I probably do, but I do not know it. My mother is dead and my father…well, I don't know where he is. He doesn't even know I exist, I think, anyway I've never seen him except in pictures". He nodded seriously.

"Why were you in the park being attacked by a hollow and practically dead"? I sighed as I warred with myself to tell him the truth. My gut told me to tell him, but to not tell him everything.

"I was banished from the Soul Society. For the past year I've been surviving in the World of the Living, escaping from hollows that are attracted to my unique reiatsu, and just trying to survive. I was trying to rest and just survive when I was attacked by that hollow. That was the tenth one in five days. I haven't eaten in so long, that is why I look like this". I motioned to my unnaturally thin body.

"I noticed". He said with a serious look on his face. I then continued.

"I was trying to get to the place where my gigai is stored away so that I would be able to hide my reiatsu so I could rest and recuperate. I traveled here all the way from Russia. That is where I was abandoned". He took all the information in and a serious look came over his face.

"If you tell me where your gigai is I can go retrieve it. You will be protected here. It is obvious that you're a soul reaper. What squad were you in"? I looked down.

"Squad 14". His eyes went wide in confusion.

"I've never heard of squad 14. Is it a new squad"? I shook my head.

"Squad 14 is the sister squad to squad 0. We are the spies for squad 0. We keep an eye on the going ons in the Seireitei. Those who can't move up in ranks in squad 0 can come to squad 14 to move up higher. Our members join in other squad to keep information on each squad. We know about an uprising that is about to take place when I was exiled here. Though it has probably already happened by now. It's my job to know who is behind it". My eyes grew determined as I said, "I am the only remaining captain of squad 14". His eyes went even wider with shock. I continued, "My brother and I led squad 14. We had to share the responsibility because of our young age. My twin brother was murdered before my eyes two years before I was exiled a year ago". He looked at me now with kindness in his eyes.

"I see. I know a few people who are actually in squad 0. I know the current captain myself actually". My eyes lit up at that. Then he said, "Unfortunately the three people are currently in the Soul Society, trying to save a friend of their. Hopefully they will be back soon. Now who is behind the uprising"? I took a deep breath as pure hate filled me. I was about to say the name of the bastard who was the reason of my brother's death and my exile.

"Sosuke Aizen". His facial expression did not change though. He knew. My head hung forward, my bangs falling into my face and covering my eyes, the same way his hat did with his. He stood up and kneeled down on one knee in front of me and put his hand on my shoulder. I felt a tingling sensation flow through me at his touch, as if the sensation was to help me calm down, it worked.

"Don't worry Nami. We'll help you. Would you mind telling me what your father looks like"? He asked in a polite tone.

"He has short black hair. His face is covered in facial hair, sort of like yours, he's a soul reaper, and in the pictures he had a huge goofy smile". His eyes seemed to get wider as I went on, and I told him of the place where my gigai was hidden and how to get to it. He nodded and then he walked to the door and after he shut it I heard him yell for someone named Tessai.

That girl who I saw earlier came in and gave me more bowls of rice and other food. She also left me a large thing of tea. I smiled at her and told her thank you. Her face lit up like she rarely got compliments. She walked out and this time I took my time eating the food. When I finished eating I felt so tired that I laid back down on the futon and went to sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Urahara's POV:

After I left Nami in her room I called for Tessai. He got Ururu to get her some more food. I told them that I would be back later. I grabbed Benihime and walked out the shop. I stared into the night sky and sighed. Things were getting more and more complicated.

I held my hat as I shunpoed into the air. She had told me that her gigai was in a small apartment in the main city Tokyo. I found the place easily enough. Though there were several barrier kidos that surrounded the place. I did though find the secret entrance that Nami told me about.

I walked through the apartment and found her body on a worn couch. I also saw the gigai of a boy who looked almost identical to her. This must be her brother's gigai. I lifted Nami's gigai and put a sheet over her brother's in respect. I hefted her gigai onto my back. As I went to leave I saw a picture on the dining table. It was face down and I picked it up. On the back it had 'mother and father' written on it. I turned it over and sure enough my suspicions were confirmed.

It was a picture of Isshin Kurosaki when he was still a captain in the thirteen court guard squads. He had his huge grin on his face. He was standing next to a young woman. I knew her, she was a bount that went by the name of Mary Soaten. She had been captured by the Soul Society. Isshin had gone against the laws of the Soul Society and saved her by sending her to the World of the Living. When he came to find her she was nowhere to be found.

He searched for weeks but no matter how much he looked, he couldn't even find her reiatsu to track her from. He soon gave up and went back to the Soul Society. I found out later that he had come back to the World of the Wiving and met this woman named Masaki. He had fallen in love with her. She was the captain of squad 0 and a friend of mine. They went out for some time and he found that he wanted to be with her.

He left the thirteen court guard squads and came to live in the human world so he could stay with her. I made him a gigai then he and Masaki got married twenty years ago. When they had Ichigo and then the girls I suspected that they would most likely have powers like their parents.

What I hadn't suspected though was that with the woman who he had met before Masaki, had children with her. He doesn't even know about them. I'd have to tell him at the right time. I readjusted Nami's gigai on my shoulders as I left out the apartment back to my shop, after putting the picture in one of my pockets.

Nami's POV:

When I woke up again I saw my body on the ground beside me. I picked it up and saw that it was wearing the same clothes that I was wearing now. The only exception to it though was the fact that the back didn't have the two large bundles of wrapped bandages right below my shoulder blades. Designed to conceal my wings in the World of the Living.

I decided now was a good a time as any. I was alone and my body seemed to have recovered some, they had healed much of my body. I stood up and moved to the middle of the room. I grabbed the two bandages on the outer part of the bundles. I gently pulled and they came off with ease. At first my wings did not move but then I twitched the muscles and they easily stretched out and touched the walls of the room.

My wingspan was huge, easily fifteen feet. It felt so nice to let my wings out like this again, I sighed in contentment. This is why I call myself an Angel, even if I didn't have pure white wings. I loved the creamy brown color that lined my feathers.

I folded my wings back against my body but kept them relaxed and unbinded. I then picked back up my body and entered the gigai. When I opened my eyes I rolled my muscles to try and get comfortable in the confining false body. I then walked out to the rest of the place. I would now explain to them about the Kiseichu, they deserved to know the whole story.

**Present time: Dangai**

Dominique's POV

We were just about to exit the Dangai. I braced myself for whatever we might find. We exited the dark tunnel into the sky of Karakura. We even got hang time just before we started falling. Everyone was screaming their heads off as we fell, I was enjoying the feeling of free falling. I had moved my body so it looked like I was sky diving. I was about to change into my full hollow form when all of a sudden I heard a loud boom and then we were surrounded by darkness. Everyone was yelling about what in the world we were in.

I was calm enough though to touch the fabric of whatever it was we were trapped in while we rolled again and again.

"Yeah! Here it comes! Jinta home-"! Jinta's voice was cut off.

"Tessai death catch"! We were still being thrown about like a bowling ball. Shuan was yelling.

"I'm gonna puke, I'm gonna puke, I'm gonna puuuuuuke"! We were jerked to a stop and then the fabric seemed to fly away from us. The next thing I saw was Urahara on some sort of flying carpet thing and the rest of us in the middle. There was also Tessai, Ururu, and Jinta with us. Urahara waved his fan at us.

"Welcome back everyone~". He sang happily. Ichigo looked at him in shock.

"Urahara"? Both Ichigo and I stood up.

"Welcome back Ichigo, Dominique. So you know about me then"? His voice turned serious at the end. Both Ichigo and I spoke up at the same time.

"Yeah". Urahara looked up at the night sky; he turned around, pulled off his hat and kneeled in front of us.

"I'm truly sorry". Everyone was in shock. Ichigo spoke up.

"Stop. It's all right. I'm not mad at you. It's not like you did anything wrong. I don't know what your intentions were, but we couldn't have done this without you. We owe you big for that". Ichigo was scratching the back of his head when I spoke up.

"Just tell us one thing though. Did you keep the truth from us cause you'd thought we'd quit if we knew"? He put his hat back on his head.

"Err...exactly"! I got instantly ticked off. Both Ichigo and I elbowed him in the face. Ichigo went off back towards the rest of the group and sat back down. I was still standing up at the front, glaring at Urahara with my arms crossed over my chest. Ichigo was fuming.

"Now that makes me mad". I went and sat down beside him and nodded stubbornly. I looked back at Urahara who was holding his bloody nose.

"You should apologize to Rukia though. She'll probably tell you the same thing we did". Uryu asked about what Ukitake had given Ichigo. Ichigo showed everybody that it was a substitute soul reaper combat pass. I turned away from the rest of the group and started giggling. Emma and Shuan were laughing right along with me.

That badge practically tells the world that the Soul Society is marking him to serve the thirteen court guard squads for life. He was just recruited into their ranks...unfortunately though; squad 0 already staked their claim though. He was born a shadow shinigami so he was automatically in squad 0 through birthright. Hee hee.

We went past Uryu's house and he got off saying that the next time we meet that we would be enemies. Ichigo got ticked and I was giggling with the rest of them. Soon Orihime got off and finally Chad. When we got to Ichigo's house Urahara spoke up.

"Emma, Dominique, Shuan, you will be coming to my shop to arrange where you will be staying. Rose told me about your situation and she pulled some strings so you and your friends will be staying in your old house". I looked at Ichigo then back at the others.

"You all go on ahead. I'll catch up in a little bit. I wanna relax a bit". Emma whistled lecherously and I stuck my tongue out at her. Both Ichigo and I jumped from the flying rug and waved at our friends. They flew off and then Ichigo and I jumped up to his bedroom window. I peeked my head up to the glass and gawked in shock. Kon, who was in Ichigo's body, was jerking off in his sleep!

"Rukia...Orihime...Dominique...no that's not fair...that's three against one...hehehe. Sure...I'm game". Ack! WTF! I deadpanned and sweatdropped, then I looked at Ichigo and he was glaring daggers at Kon. Not only was the perv dreaming of nasty things, but I was in it! Ichigo would probably try and kill the mod soul. Okay, I felt sorry for the poor thing and what was surely coming for him.

Ichigo started banging on his window and I put my hand on his arm to tell him that it wasn't worth it. He sighed and started banging on the window again. Kon jumped up and yelled at the window.

"Shut up! Can't you see that I'm having the dream of the century! Two more minutes and I'd be up to my ears in pudding and babes...". He saw us standing at the window and he deadpanned. He rushed to the window, opened it, and Ichigo jumped in. Kon said, "If your back...welcome home Rukia"!

He jumped to the window and all he met was my foot on his chest. I pushed him back and told him about Rukia staying in the Soul Society. He was about to complain when Ichigo used his badge to shove the soul candy from his body.

"Cool. This thing has the same powers as Rukia's glove". He got back in his body and looked back at me sitting on his bed.

_'I wonder if...'._ I was thinking about what Kon had been doing earlier had affected Ichigo any since he was now back in his body.

"Come back to Urahara's place later once you've gotten some rest". He laid down on his bed as I jumped out onto the ledge. Ichigo grabbed the legging of my hakama and I stopped.

"So where are **you** going then"? I smiled at him, he knew me well.

"I'm going to go flying for a little while". With that I let my black reiatsu surround me and I put my mask on the side of my face to grinned at him playfully. He grinned back at me as I launched myself from the window. He knew everything about me and he wasn't afraid of me. Joy absolutely filled me as I pumped my wings happily and flew off into the rising dawn above Karakura Town.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sometime later I landed in front of Urahara's shop. I changed back to normal as I walked in the front door. I was met with Urahara, Yoruichi, Emma, Shuan, Claire, Brandon, and Jessy sitting at the main table. Then I noticed someone whom I'd never seen before. She had light brown hair and bright chocolate brown eyes that immediately reminded me of Ichigo. They had an air of seriousness to them. I went and sat down with the rest of them. Urahara had his fan to his face.

"Hello again Dominique". I rolled my eyes, then he spoke up again, "As you can see there is someone new here. Her name is Nami. She is in need of some help and since you are the leader of your section in squad 0, I thought it was best to ask you directly for help". A confused look overcame my face.

"Why would she need my help? I mean wouldn't it be better to ask Rose"? His face got serious so I immediatly knew that this was something important.

"In a way it would be better to ask your captain for help. But since she is most likely having to deal with other things at the moment, you are the strongest one here that is a shadow shinigami". I nodded and raised my hand in surrender.

"Okay I get it. Now tell me what's going on". Urahara then started telling me about the Parisite.

"From what Nami told me the Kiseichu or otherwise known as the Parisite is an ancient being that was sealed away several mellenia ago. It was sealed away using some unknown kido. Apparently Aizen has unleashed the Kiseichu and he is going to use it to help him take over the three worlds. For three years the Kiseichu stays nearly inactive. But since it was disturbed over two and a half years ago...the Kiseichu will be awakening in a matter of months". The whole group besides Nami looked at Urahara in shock.

I immediatly went into stratigizing mode. I sat up straiter and had my right hand on the table with a serious expression on my face.

"Urahara, is there anyway to destroy this thing"? I asked the scientist. He shook his head solemly.

"If there is, I don't know it". Nami spoke up.

"I'm sorry I can't tell you more about this thing but my memories are muddled. I was exiled from the Soul Society a year ago. I had a twin brother, he was murdured before my eyes three years ago almost. The only reason I was left alive, and I found this out later, was because they thought that I was weaker than my brother. It turned out that my powers just hadn't fully awakened yet. Last year my true abilities awakened and I was ambushed by someone who I had thought for the longest time to be my friend. She attacked me from behind and rendered me unconcious. She then dumped me here in the World of the Living". She slouched forward, obviously feeling pain from the memories.

The way she spoke and how she reacted seemed to make me think of Ichigo. It was like little bells going off in my head. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind for a later time. Then I spoke up.

"I see. I'm truly sorry for your loss. I want you to know though that as long as you are here you are safe though". She looked at me and smiled at me.

"Thank you Dominique. I'm grateful to Urahara for saving me from a hollow attack three days ago". Urahara waved his fan at her playfully.

"No thanks is needed my friend". She blushed. Shiva started laughing.

_'Omygosh! She has a crush on him'!_ Shiva cackled. I had to agree with her.

_'How cute'._ Both she and I were silently giggling. I then spoke up to the others.

"When will we tell Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, and Orihime? They should be clued in as well". Urahara nodded.

"I was planning on having them gather here this afternoon". He had that sly look in his shadowed eyes.

"Let me guess, you were gonna use that weird murder victim blood message again weren't you"? He smiled.

"Exactly"! I sighed.

"No need. Emma, Shuan, Jessy, since you three are the fastest, would you go get Chad, Orihime, and Uryu"?

"Yes". They all said in unison. Then they all walked out the door. I myself stood up and walked out to get Ichigo. I jumped high into the air and shunpoed to his house.

I'd get back in my body when I got back. I landed on Ichigo's still open window. I looked in on him and blushed ten shades of red instantly. He was on his bed sleeping, shirtless.

_'Holy crap'!_ Shiva whistled apreciativly in my mind. I shook my head to clear it and jumped in his room. I walked up to his bed and put my hand on his shoulder. He didn't wake up and he was twitching in his sleep. He was dreaming. I bit down on my lip. I closed my eyes and opened a link with his mind. When I opened them I was looking at him and I in one of the rooms at Urahara's shop. I was sitting in his lap and he was groping me.

I blushed and broke the link quickly. I stood above him as he slept for a short minute. He had one heck of a smile on his face and I grinned. I looked at him with love in my eyes. I shook his shoulder some and he woke with a start.

"What the hell"! I giggled.

"Don't worry Ichigo. It's just me. Come on, Urahara want's to see everyone. The other's went to get Orihime, Chad, and Uryu. Let's go". I would keep my little act of spying to myself. He grabbed his badge and then he was out of his body. I then said, "Hmm...you might wan't to keep that thing on you when we go back to school". He put Kon back in his lion body. We then shunpoed back to Urahara's place, leaving Kon to find his own way there.

When we got there we were soon greeted by Uryu, Orihime, and Chad with my team. We walked into Urahara's place and then we started explaining things to the rest of our group. Once everyone was updated Uryu just had to say something.

"I don't see why you had to come get me. I hate soul reapers and I don't want to get mixed up in thier business anymore". Both Nami and Ichigo gave darks looks at the rude quincy. I looked back and forth between thier faces. They looked so much alike when they did that. A thought came into my head.

_'Were they related'?_ I could only think of one way to tell if that was the case. And that particular way actually came barging in. Kon saw Nami and went right for her. Both Ichigo and Nami stomped Kon into the ground at the same time. This confirmed it.

"Damn pervert". They said that at the exact same time. I put my hands over my mouth and was fighting from screaming out the truth. Then I felt Urahara's presence behind me.

"You should have asked me. They are siblings". My eyes went so wide and thankfully nobody was watching me spaz out. I then got control over my facial expression and then I asked Urahara to follow me to the hallway, out of earshot of the others.

"You're telling me that Nami is Ichigo's older sister"? I said older, even if she looked in her mid teens like the rest of us.

"Yes. From what I've seen. Her father that she never met was Isshin. Her mother was a bount. Isshin doesn't even know that he has other kids". I let that process in my head.

"Wait...gasp! That means that Ichigo's dad is a soul reaper"! His face got close to me and I sweatdropped.

"Don't tell anybody for now okay. Isshin hasn't been a soul reaper in almost twenty years. His gigai had reiatsu sealing properties in it so that the Soul Society wouldn't be able to track him. His powers should be returning soon. Your squad members, Ichigo, and Nami should know though. I'm not gonna be the one to tell them. So I'll leave that pleasent little job to you". I growled at him and I rolled my eyes. I would get him back for this. I decided that I would tell Shuan and Emma a little later. Ichigo and Nami should be the first ones to know.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

After everyone besides Ichigo, Nami, and I went home, Urahara and Yoruichi went to thier rooms. Ichigo was about to head home after Kon had made a melodramatic exit that caused the three of us to bust out laughing. I put my hand on his arm to get him to sit down. He sat down and then it was just me, him, and Nami. I sighed.

"Nami, you told us that you knew what your father looked like but you'd never seen him in person right"?

"Yeah. He had short black hair that was slightly spiky, facial hair that me and my brother used to say that it made him look like a goat, and a huge goofy grin on his face from when he posed for the picture". I pulled out the picture that Urahara had given me in the hallway.

"Is this him"? I put the picture of Isshin on the table.

"Yes. That's my father". Ichigo's eyes went wide.

"What the hell. My dad is your dad"? I answered. Nami looked back to Ichigo in confusion.

"According to Urahara, yes". Ichigo and Nami looked at eachother in shock. I then continued, "Ichigo, your mom and dad met twenty years ago. This was after Nami was born. Nami is your older sister". They were both speachless. Ichigo spoke up.

"That makes my dad a-".

"A soul reaper. That is proof that you are a true blood. You were born with your powers". Both Ichigo and Nami looked at each other. I said, "Well you will have time to get used to this new information. But for now Ichigo needs to rest and I need to get back into my body". I walked back to where I had stayed before we went to the Soul Society.

I saw my body on the futon where I had left it the night before we left. I picked up my body and entered it. I opened my eyes and moved my arms and legs to loosen up my incredibly stiff muscles. Man things had changed alot since I had last been in my body, so many things. I then walked out to the rest of them in a white skirt and a red t-shirt.

I walked up to Ichigo and pulled his face down to mine so I could kiss him. He kissed me back with passion and then I told him to get on home and get some rest. I then walked down the street back to the house where my friends and I had been staying before. I walked in the front door and saw a note on the small table in the hallway.

_Dominique,_

_I paid for this house so you and the rest of your section could stay in Karakura. Don't worry about it, everything's been taken care of. Give my regards to the rest of the gang. Try to stay out of trouble. Hehe. Sero says that next time we get involved with soul reapers again that she wants to fight that Kenpachi guy from squad 11. So contact us if they start sending soul reapers to Karakura town okay? Oh and look out for the vizards. They've heard about Ichigo and will be trying to recruit him. Kick Shinji's ass for me when you see him k, and Hiyori's too? Watch out for arrancars too. They will most likely start showing up as well. Get ready and be prepared for fighting ahead. Hehe, things are finaly spicing up. Bout damn time. Syanara for now._

_Rose_

I giggled at the note and threw it in the trash. The house had been cleaned while we were gone but nothing had really changed other than the fact that we no longer had any adults in the house with us. (Not that it affected anything before. **;**p) I walked up the stairs to the room I had gotten when we first came here. There was only one bed in there now. Apparently I now had a room to myself. Yay.

I smiled to myself. I saw my bag with my clothes and stuff beside my bed. I laid down and sighed with a big smile on my face. I laid there thinking on how much better my life could be? I was living in Japan, I was of course a member of squad 0, I met this incredibly sweet, kind, protective, brave, hotheaded guy, and I fell in love with that very guy. Life couldn't get any better than this, even if I was in the middle of a friggen war. I soon fell asleep; my mind full of happy thoughts.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The next day everyone was trying to think of what we should do now. Emma and Shuan came up with the idea to have a party. It would be a celebration of our success of saving Rukia and a welcoming party for Nami.

Everyone agreed and then it was settled that Shuan would be in charge of the set up. Urahara ever so graciously let us use his shop as the location for the party. I was dragged by Emma, Claire, and Jessy to the mall to go shopping; litteraly dragged. They even got Nami to come along. She seemed to enjoy it, even if I was being torured to death. Her and Ichigo got used to the idea of them being siblings pretty fast. Both Ichigo and I decided that it was best if he didn't tell his father what he knew. All of us were busy preparing for the party.

Me: Man that took forever. Sorry it took so damn long people! I had a hard time getting the information that I needed for our new character. My friend SeasprayLuv was having computer problems. Soon we'll have some of the characters leaving though but don't worry. Our main group will still be here. I've got big things planned out so stay tuned k? Oh and as a warning, the next chapter is a lemon one. I know that I might be going overboard with the warnings and all but this is my first lemon and I'm nervous as hell. Again sorry it took so long but just think, you get two chapters in one day so I guess that can make it up a little I guess. Oh and also from now on each chapter will have a song that will be sort of it's theme. They will be right over the farewell sign off.

Cold Night by Avril Lavine

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	13. Lemonade Party

Me: This was once a lemon chapter but I edited it for the sake of and to keep others from being freaked out by the lemon-ness when this is a actiony story. I didn't want to put anything out there that might get me in trouble on Fanfiction so I got rid of the lemon. If you want to read the lemon then message me. There is some suggestiveness in here, but nothing that a teenager can't handle. Then again, the fight scenes are worse than this so we're good. Hope you enjoy the chapter though. As you guys know, I own nothing but my crazy thoughts.

**Chapter: 13: Lemonade Party**

Dominique's POV

I was standing in front of my full length mirror in my room, being prepared by Emma, Jessy, and Claire, while Orihime and Nami watched on the sidelines. They had spent the last hour making me try on different outfits to wear to the party. That is, until they found this extremely tiny, dark blue dress in Emma's closet that she thew at my face. She forced me to try it on to see if this would suit me.

I twisted my body into a pose and observed how I looked in the mirror. I huffed in irritation and decided to try one more time.

"Guuuuuuyyyyyysssss, do I really have to wear this stupid outfit"? I asked as I turned towards Emma. I was now wearing the short dark blue dress, with spaghetti straps, that showed way too much on me, and Emma was giving me a look over to approve or not if this outfit was for me. The three of them spoke up in unison.

"Yes"! Excitement and triumph radiated from thier faces. I grumbled in protest, but then Emma grinned at me.

"This isn't for you. We're doing this for Ichigo". She said with a wink. My face flushed crimson and my eyes widened a little bit. He would be staring a lot thanks to them. Did they want Ichigo to lose his self control and have his wicked way with me?

**...**

Not an entirely bad thought I had to admit, but I still didn't like the stupid dress.

Emma finally appraised my outfit and said that it was perfect, then Claire started brushing my hair. She put it up in a high ponytail that left the top of my back exposed from the dress.

I looked at Nami, who was wearing a green knee length strapless dress. She and Orhihime, in her pink shirt/skirt combo were looking at the make up on my dresser, not mine, by the way. I smiled at her when she turned to look at me excitedly. Nami had found it cute that Ichigo, her newly found brother, was my boyfriend; she was dealing with the whole new family/new life thing pretty well. Especially since she didn't have all of her memories.

Nami almost seemed like a child at times, with short burst of deadly seriousness that showed who she might have been before the memory loss.

Emma had turned, left the room, and came back with a million extra pieces of makeup in addition to the stuff on my dresser; eye shadow, eye liner, lip stick, etc, etc, and more etc. She intended to embarrass me even more with makeup. As if the dress wasn't enough!

_'Okay, time to escape'! _ I thought to myself in a rush. Emma looked at me with an evil glint in her eye, one that I'd seen in her eyes many times before. I cut her off before she could even say anything. I refused to be her living barbie doll...again.

"No makeup! I am not letting you put any of that crap on my face! Sayonara"! I went to bolt out the door dramatically, but forgot that I was wearing black high heels to match the blue dress. A horrible mistake on my part.

As I went down the steps I nearly fell down on my face, catching myself on the railing with my quick reflexes. I could hear their laughter in the room. I growled under my breath and walked the rest of the way down as gracefully as my damaged pride would let me. Just as I was at the base of the stairs I heard a loud clicking sound. I looked up and saw that Jessy had taken a picture of me. 

'_OOOO! SHE IS SO DEAD WHEN I GET MY CLAWS ON HER'!_ I mentally roared. I bared my teeth in a silent growl. Jessy smiled at me before dissapearing down the hallway again to head back to the room. Her dark curley brown hair bouncing in silent laugher.

'_I'm glad I'm not in your shoes tonight'. _ Shiva oh so nicely commented. I grumbled as I walked out into the cool night air, mentally throwing curses at my annoying hollow.

I looked up at the stars, as well as the crescent moon, and took a deep breath of the cool night air to calm down. Ichigo, Shaun, Chad, Brandon, and Uryu would be coming by anytime to get us. I decided to stay out here and wait for them instead of heading back inside to deal with more torture from Emma and her fashion sense.

I felt several reiatsu approaching after about five minutes of waiting. It was definitly the boys. I turned back towards the house and put my pointer and middle fingers to my lips. I gave a loud whistle, but no one answered or even came out of the house.

I became a bit pissed at that. A tick mark appeared on my forehead as I glared up at the upstairs window and let out a huffed sigh, since I knew it would do no good to yell at them. I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms in an attempt to calm myself down.

I turned my head just in time to see the boys round the corner. All of them were dressed up. Ichigo was wearing a tight, black button down shirt that showed off his muscular chest and a pair of dress pants. He took one look at me and his face flushed crimson. My face grew hot as well and I looked away to keep from staring. I heard Shaun start to laugh though.

"Hahahaha! I guess Emma, and Claire got to you, hehe". Then he muttered under his breath, "Heh, poor Ichigo". I heard him though, and let out a low growl under my breath. Ichigo walked up to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. I leaned up against him, rested my head against his chest, and sighed. If Shaun thought he could get away with pissing me off tonight then he was wrong; I would chuck one of my damn stilettos at him, then we'd see who had the last laugh.

Personally, I'd rather walk barefooted anyway.

Ichigo's POV

I held Dominique as she was giving death glares at Shaun. She turned in my arms so that she was facing forward, and away from him, but I still had my arms wrapped around her. I leaned my head down and whispered in her ear.

"Don't let it get to you". She shivered as I kissed her in the hallow behind her ear. The rest of the girls eventually came out and we all started on our way to Urahara's shop for the party.

While we walked to there I held Dominique's hand. She was so beautiful in her outfit, but she looked uncomfortable in it. Her friends would every now and then catch her eye and would give her thumbs up signs. She would then sigh and avert her eyes with a deep blush on her face.

Nami, Orihime, Jessy, Claire, and Emma had worn makeup, but Dominique hadn't. She probably didn't like that stuff, not that she needed it anyway, but I made sure to make a mental note of that.

When we got to Urahara's we were greeted by Tessai at the door. He led us to the back room and I deadpanned and sweat dropped, Dominique did as well.

The room was decorated in a mixture of Japanese and American party themes. I saw Shaun standing by Emma with a huge, proud grin on his face. Well there was at least food and drinks here so it wouldn't be so bad.

Dominique let go of my hand and at first I thought she was going off to talk with Emma or something, but she got two cups filled with soda and brought them back to where I was. She handed one to me.

I smiled at her and she grinned back. Urahara and Yoruichi were getting more drunk by the second and the party had only just started. Nami was sitting, watching Urahara and Yoruichi with fascination as they participated in drinking games. Jinta and Ururu were being told to go to bed by Tessai so they wouldn't be influenced by the irrisponsible adults.

I took a sip of the soda and noticed that something was off about the taste. It tasted good, but the taste was off, like there was something else with it. I shrugged it off. I finished my drink and Dominique finished hers. I took her cup and got us both some more soda.

We both begain to loosen up and we started to enjoy ourselves; Dominique was swinging her hips to the music that was playing. I noticed though that Dominique's face had a light blush on it and it wasn't going away, in fact it was getting deeper and deeper as the time went by.

A new song started up, it was in English, and I understood some of it. Dominique had been teaching me more English for the last two weeks. It wasn't so hard when you actually tried it, she told me it was how she learned Japanese. I listened to the music as Dominique started dancing. Apparently she knew this song and she liked it.

She danced and I was lost in the way she moved. Her movements were fast and jerky, yet were calm and rythmic at the same time, she laughed as her friends joined her on the dance floor.

Her hips swayed as she did each move, her face was broke out in a large smile, and her arms were raised above her head as she moved with the beat of the song. When the song ended she walked back to me with a spring in her step. She got some food and a few more drinks. We loosened up and we were really enjoying ourselves. It was nice to see this more relaxed side of Dominique.

We would laugh and carry on when someone did something funny. Emma and Shaun were seen making out in a corner of the shop. Claire and Brandon were simply talking with each other. Orihime and Uryu were dancing while Chad was standing off to the side. Urahara and Yoruichi passed out on the floor from the sake they were drinking. They both had heavy blushes on their faces.

We went to stand in a corner away from the other dancers to relax for a minute. That's when she wobbled on her feet, nearly falling on the floor, and then her eyes went wide. She went to one of the mirrors that were hanging up on the wall. She looked at her reflection and her expression turned into one of rage, then she turned to me and her eyes burned. They changed from blue to a bluish gray. She walked back up to me.

"Ichigo, The drinks have been spiked with sake. I'm so stupid. I should have relized it earlier". She said through gritted teeth. My eyes went wide, but that does explain the blush on her face and probably my own. She looked around at the other people and said, "Let's get out of here, Shaun and Emma probably know about this, but I blame Urahara and Yoruichi". I nodded and we walked quietly out the door; she was throwing death glares at the two unconscious people. Yoruichi was lying upside down on a cushion while Urahara was being poked by Nami, who was wearing his hat.

We walked down the street, trying to sober up. We walked hand in hand and I couldn't help it but my eyes kept wandering back to her. That outfit of hers was extremely exposing; showing the curve of her neck, showing some of her clevage and showing part of her dragon mark on her back.

The most shocking thing that was showing though, was a scar on her left shoulder, long healed and normally would be hard to even see. In the moonlight though, it shone out like a beacon. I remembered seeing that scar while we had been in the hot spring when I was training with her, Zangetsu, and Yoruichi.

The straps had slipped down and her black bra was showing. She didn't seem to be aware of it though. She still had a pissed off glare on her face that I found both adorable and frightening at the same time.

She would stumble every now and again in her high heels. Once, she nearly fell forward, but I was able to catch her. My right hand on her right shoulder and my left hand held against her waist. She blushed deeply from the contact and thanked me as I righted her. We continued our walk. By the time I noticed where we were walking to we were already in front of my house.

I was severely glad that my family was still on vacation. The note on the fridge that I saw a few days ago said that they shouldn't be back for another week at least. So it was just Dominique and myself.

We never do get enough time together alone. We were always surrounded by other people, but tonight we had this house to ourselves. Now we could just sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet. Just the two of us.

'_What a coincidence'_. Damn. I hid my grimace as I pulled the key from my back pocket and opened the door. I was thankful that now I was pretty much completely sobered up almost all the way. I could at least control my facial expressions.

Now **he** had to start talking tonight. Great. Oh well, I'd deal with him later I guess. When we were inside she bent down to undo the clasp on her high heels. I looked at her and saw her dress rise up as she bent down; giving me an excellent view of her ass. My face got real hot real fast; I couldn't look away. What was I, a perv? Damn Kon.

'_D-a-m-n. Nice view'._ Hichigo whistled appreciatively although his words were slurred, as if he was drunk too.

'_Shut up'!_ I snapped at him irritated. When she stood back up she leaned on the wall before crossing one of her legs and was rubbing her foot, which had red lines on it from the constriction of the shoes. She turned to look at me.

"Where's the rest of your family"? She asked as she turned her head to look around. I told her about them being on vacation as I walked up to her and gently wrapped my arms around her waist. She leaned up against me with my head resting on hers.

She looked up at me and smiled. I began to lead her to the stairs and led her up to my room. I left the light off, the moon that lit up my room in it's pale glow was enough light. She walked over and sat on my bed in comfortable familiarity. She swung her legs up and down like a little kid. She had a small smile on her face and her deep blue eyes seemed to shine at me in the moonlight.

This was one of the times I wish I knew how to do that mind reading thing that she and her friends could do. I walked over to her and sat on the bed beside her. She moved to position herself on my lap and my face flushed crimson again. She leaned against me and sighed. She probably meant nothing by her action, but my thoughts went astray anyway.

At least she couldn't see my face at the moment. She leaned against me and I rested my lips on her chocolate brown hair. My arms wrapped around her and her arms rested on mine. She felt so warm and familiar in my arms. I began to think about how she came to be here. She just came out of nowhere and slashed appart my old life. It was like she was made just for me even though sometimes it's still hard to believe that she's mine.

'_Dude, take her. Stake a claim already'._ I knew what he meant and anger flooded through me.

'_No. Now shut up for the last time dammit'._ I said angrily. I was perfectly comfortable at the moment. He scoffed at me.

"_Not a chance. But back to the point. She's ours isn't she? Well, then take her'_. I mentally growled.

'_I would never take advantage of her like that'._ He was ticked.

'_She's already said you could touch her so... She and her hollow are one in the same so what I feel for Shiva make it the same for Dominique. Take her up on her offer already'._ I tried to find a way around it, but he did have a point.

The truth was…I wanted her under me, to claim her as mine, and mine alone so that no one could touch her. No male would dare try to take her from me. I wanted to hear her moan my name in pleasure. I had heard many things from the guys at school before classes started; they would brag to each other how thier first time felt and if they were still with the girl.

Then I saw Hichigo's own fantacies, I started growing hard from that. I mentally roared out for him to stop, I was extremely careful so I wouldn't startle Dominique. I didn't want her to get suspicious and decide to listen in on this particular conversation. Hichigo then continued to try and convince me.

_'Then make a move already. There's no one else here, and she's right here in front of us in a very suggestive outfit. Both Shiva and Dominique are ours dammit! I'm not about to let you screw up and let some other male take what's ours'._I felt a shock go through me. The crazy hollow was serious.

'_No one would dare try'._ I muttered, but my pride was agreeing with him. After I thought that I could feel his anger grow.

_'Dumbass! She's gorgeous right? Well you're not the only male who noticed that. I've looked at your memories and saw at least half of the males in your class drooling after her. Even that wierdo chick Chizuru went after her once. It's not that hard to see ya know. You're just so damn dense'._ I puffed up defiantly.

_'But she chose me'._ I protested. I could feel his argument.

'_So? Now that you got her, you've got to make sure you can keep her. Now do it. If this goes wrong then blame me. She won't be mad at you so what do you have to loose'?_ He had a point there.

'_Fine._ _But if she gets pissed, then your ass is the one getting kicked'._ I then had the thought of Dominique entering my inner world and beating the smug hollow to a pulp.

'_No problem. She'll be thanking us for this'._ He said superiorly. I mentaly rolled my eyes at him. I felt a surge of power go through me and noticed that I felt stronger.

_'What the'?_ I thought. Hichigo scoffed.

_'We're linked. It's a Squad 0 technique that Dominique uses in fighting a lot. I just got the idea to do this. Dominique can tell if someone does a link. She'll link with Shiva, and then we'll both have our fun'._ He said excitedly. I had to agree with him. It felt like I was two people yet still one person at the same time. I also felt stronger than I normally felt while in my body.

_'Okay, let's do this'._ I thought to myself. It was a strange feeling, but also awesome at the same time. I decided to go with it. I took a deep breath and went to make the first move.

OoOoOoOoOoOo (Lemonade~)

Dominique's POV

The next morning when I woke up I was a little warmer than I was used to. I then noticed where the heat was coming from. Ichigo's arms were around me and he was tracing the dragon mark down my back. My face began to blush furiously, and a small smile crept its way across my face. I opened my eyes to meet Ichigo's. He had a worried look to his face.

"What's wrong Ichigo"? He looked at me as I propped myself up on my elbows, using his chest to do so.

"I didn't use protection...". That was it? Pfft! But at least it was a good reason for worry, I mean he didn't know that I was on the pill. He was muttering something like getting me pregnant. I wanted to laugh out loud at the way his face looked right now.

"I'm on the pill so chill out okay. Those things make life way easier". Especially if they make it so you don't have a period for a whole year. I tried to get him to calm down. He sighed in relief and grinned at me. I grinned back. After a while I said, "I need to take a shower. It's only a matter of time before the others come looking for us, especially Emma". He nodded and I stood up off the bed. He was staring at my body, I blushed and giggled.

"You know what...you have a really beautiful ass". He said in a husky voice. I grinned at him with a fierce blush on my face and stuck my tongue out playfully at him. I gathered up my clothes and walked to the bathroom, making sure to grab my underwear. I was not about to go commando today, nuh-uh. I turned on the hot water and then turned on the cold until it was comfortable.

I stepped into the water and just let it wash over me for a minute. My body was aching a little, and the warm water helped out a lot. I found a bottle of strawberry shampoo, which to me, seemed ironic. Strawberry shampoo for my strawberry. I giggled at the thought. When I finished washing I climbed out the shower and dried off quickly.

My hair was a total mess, but I didn't really care at the moment. I'm sure one of his sisters had a hair brush I could use. I quickly got dressed and walked out the bathroom. Ichigo was in his room grabbing the sheets off the bed; he was fully dressed. He didn't notice me enter, so I decided to do something fun.

"JURANAMO"! I ran and jumped up onto his back; wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. Surprisingly he stayed upright and he was able to move his hands behind him and grab my ass. "Hey"! I squeaked and we both started laughing.

That's when I heard a very loud knock from the front door. Ichigo let me down and walked to the window. He turned back to me and mouthed out; Emma and Claire. I giggled. Ichigo grabbed up the sheets and deposited them in the laundry room as we walked to the front door. When he opened it; both Claire and Emma just barged right in. Claire was the first to speak.

"Where did you guys go last night"? Emma cut her off.

"What did you two **do** last night"? She put major emphasis on the word do. I couldn't stop the blush that seared my face. Ichigo had one as well. Claire and Emma looked at each other and then back to us. They both spoke up at the same time.

"NO FRIGGEN WAY! YOU SO DIDN'T! WERE SO PROUD OF YOU"! They both yelled out excitedly. I then spoke up, completely embarrassed at their penitrating gaze.

"So..."? I looked away blushing like a tomato. Emma spoke up.

"So?! Ichigo out now"! He asked why in a worried tone. She merely cut him off and said in a dignified voice, "This is girl talk, now go upstairs. NOW"! He listened and walked up the stairs to leave me to the wrath of Emma and Claire. Emma spoke up again.

"So how was it"? I looked at her in shock.

"Wha-"? She cut me off.

"How did it feel"!? I stared at Emma in shock. I had to answer or she'd never leave me alone about it.

"Umm…like nothing else I've ever felt". Claire looked at me in a mixture of shock and curiosity. Now she was the odd man out of the three of us, and that was bad cause she was the oldest. Emma continued.

"Did you use protection"? I blushed.

"Pill". Emma and Claire both nodded before busting out into giggles. I couldn't help but to join in.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

We made sure that Claire nor Emma wouldn't tell anyone unless we allowd it. Ichigo had come down after they left for Urahara's to help with the clean up. Ichigo came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I giggled and lifted my arms and wrapped them around his neck.

"So what made you finally make a move"? He grumbled a little before saying anything.

"Hichigo". I laughed.

"I sort of figured that". He looked at me in surprise. I then said, "I knew Shiva and Hichigo liked each other, and since hollows have no sense of patience whatsoever, I knew this was coming. Both she and I though it would be him to get you to make a move. What I didn't figure though was that you both would use a link. That was something that even I didn't think about". He grinned at me and pulled me up into a kiss.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

A few days later I found out that since the new semester would be starting soon; Claire, Jessy, and Brandon needed to go back to America. All three of them were older than me and were going to college next year. They had to go back.

So I decided to get Ichigo, Nami, Emma, and Shaun to go with us to America. We would be heading back for Japan after a week. I continued teaching Ichigo English, but soon found out that I wouldn't be able to teach him enough before we left.

I didn't have to do anything with Nami because she for some reason already spoke English fluently. We began to pack a weeks worth of stuff. Nami was given a mod soul from Urahara. Her name was Yuki, the pill was put into a rice ball plushy toy that Nami had made with Uryu's help.

She had no problems making it, but she needed the actual stuff to make it with so she went to him. She kept eyeing Urahara's hat before we were set to leave. I pulled Yuki to the side and told her to steal Urahara's hat before we left. I told her to make sure that he was asleep before she would try it though.

She gave me a salute in her rice ball plushi body. Then she transformed into a cat. Oh, did I forget to mention, Yuki, being a type 20 model mod soul, had the ability to transform into anything she wanted to. Though her plushy body did restrict her to certain transformations.

She looked just like Yoruichi in her cat form. She slunk off to get ahold of Urahara's hat. Boy, Nami would be surprised about it. She had a major crush on the dude so I would help her out. After about ten minutes or so Yuki returned with the shop keepers hat.

She had a sly grin on her face when she changed back into her original form. I put the hat in Nami's bag and then went back to the appartment to get my bag for the trip, with a sly grin on my own face. Urahara would not be happy about loosing his hat and we would be long gone before he would even relize it was missing.

Payback's a bitch ain't it?

Me: I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Shiva: This Afternoon by Nickleback was the song Dominique was dancing to.

Teenage Dream by Katty Perry

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	14. Masaki's Story

Me: I'm just going to get to this one. This is a special chapter that deals with Masaki Kurosaki. Trust me; you will understand when this is over.

**Chapter 14: Masaki's Story**

**The third of August, 8 years ago…**

Masaki's POV

It was late at night in Karakura. Isshin had put the kids down to bed and then gone to bed himself. I stayed up and waited for the call from Saigon. I was going to go see about some new girl who had good reiatsu. Isshin's own powers were sealed away in his gigai so the Soul Society couldn't find him. He couldn't even see wholes now. The stuff though would wear off in a few years. I sat down at the family table as I waited for the call. I felt the vibration in my shirt pocket and I pulled out the soul pager.

"Hello Captain Masaki". That wasn't Saigon. It was his hollow; Gonsai.

"Gonsai, where is Saigon"? He hesitated.

"Performing a konsol".  I rolled my eyes.

"For whom"?

"The girl's grandmother. She died two days ago. We found out that she could see her grandmother and she could even talk to and touch her. Her reiatsu increased greatly when her grandmother died". That wasn't uncommon, stress and emotions can cause reiatsus to spike.

"How old is the girl"?

"Seven". I nodded my head. She was only a little younger than Ichigo.

"What is her name"?

"Dominique Kudo". My eyes widened a little at this. Her last name meant hollow. How ironic. I smirked.

"Very well. I'm on my way to see this girl for myself".

"Yes Captain". The line disconnected. I put the phone in my pocket and went upstairs to the kids' rooms. I went into Karin and Yuzu's room first. They were so young and cute. Karin had her father's black hair and Yuzu hand brownish blond hair like me. I went to the sleeping two year olds' beds and kissed them both on their foreheads. I made sure they were tucked in and went to Ichigo's room. He was laying there asleep. I could tell he was having a bad dream when I entered his room. His reiatsu was frantic.

Even though he was still so young his power was great. He could already see wholes…like that girl Dominique acording to Saigon. To him though they looked like regular people, he couldn't see the chain of fate on them yet.

He'd asked me about them a few times. I merely told him that I couldn't see them and that he was special that he could see them. I put my hand on his forehead and he immediately calmed down. I felt something pushing on my consciousness. I closed my eyes and felt the presence of a zanpakuto. I actually knew this one; it was that old man Zangetsu. I smirked at the fact that the old man had chosen Ichigo as his wielder. I opened a link and then I felt the zanpakuto's presence in my mind.

_'Hello Captain Masaki'._ As usual a man of few words.

_'Hello Zangetsu. I see you've chosen my son as your wielder'._

_'Not just your son, but I have two wielders. She lives in America. I suspect you've already heard of her. Her name is Dominique Kudo'._ I opened my eyes in shock. Not only did he have two wielders but his wielders were my own son and the young girl who was going to be a future shadow shinigami. This grabbed my attention and I made my mind that I would definitly come and see this girl Dominique. She would be interesting.

_'I'm surprised to hear that but I am glad as well. Maybe they will meet one day'._ I stepped away from Ichigo, severing the link. I walked out of his room and shut the door quietly. I walked down the stairs and as I did I popped in my soul candy; Misa. I told her to go to bed and that I would return by morning. I then opened a portal and stepped through into the bright blue sky of an American afternoon. Everywhere I saw were hills that were covered with trees.

If I do say so myself it was pretty. Sakima materialized beside me and grinned. She was much more excited about this little trip, in her opinion things had become incredibly boring around here and this new information seemed to forshadow something big was coming. To tell the truth, I was excited too. I shunpoed at a leasurly pace towards Saigon's and Gonsai's reiatsus with Sakima beside me. I located them just outside of a small town.

"Hey Gonsai, Saigon"! They both turned thier heads toward me and Sakima. They grinned at us and then told us where to find Dominique and what she looked like. She lived in a small trailer park with her parents. She had chocolate brown hair that stopped at her shoulders, deep blue eyes, and she was short for her age. She was playing outside in the park beside her home.

Well I shouldn't say playing, she was swinging on a swing set and singing some sort of song. I landed on a branch of a large pine tree a short distance away from her while Sakima landed on top of her house witch was actually closer to her than where I was sitting in the tree. I listened to her sing for a moment. Her song didn't have any words to it but it was very pretty. She would stop every now and again to change a pitch in the song as if she was experimenting with it.

"Dominique"! I heard someone call behind her in English. I looked back at the same time she did and I be her mother. Though there was a man right beside her. I figured he was her father. Dominique stopped swinging and looked back at her two parents. She looked at the man and her eyes hardened a bit.

"Hey mom. Who's that"? She pointed to the man. Okay so he wasn't her father.

"This is my new boyfriend; Shaun Kenn. We've been going out for three months". Dominique's eyes hardened even more and they seemed to change from deep blue to a greyish green color. Her face though changed into a bright welcoming smile. Her eyes closed to hide her showing emotions.

"Hiya! My name's Dominique. I'm happy to meet you". I gave the kid credit, she didn't like the guy and yet she put on one heck of a show.

"It's nice to meet you too. I hope we can be good friends". She retained her smile but her eyes seemed to turn flat silver. Sakima sonidoed to my side.

"Dang. The kid's eyes change color acording to her emotions. Hehe, but her mother and her boyfriend seem too dense to notice though. This sure is interesting. I mean do you feel her reiatsu? I'm impressed". I agreed with her. If her spiritual powers were this strong at this age then Dominique was definitly going to be a strong shadow shinigami when she got older. Her mother walked up to her to her.

"Come on inside. We're going out to lunch today and I wanted you to get to know Shaun. Oh and Shaun, tomorrow's my mother's funeral, would you like to come"? He nodded seriously. Dominique spoke up, I could hear the rage underlying her happy tone. She was obviously not happy about him coming along with them.

"Okay mom". She walked with her mom back to her house and then they soon left to wherever it is that they're going. Both Sakima and I jumped from the tree and sonidoed to her house. We put on a special bangle that would allow us to pass through solid objects as well as make us invisible to everyone but those who posessed the bangle as well. We walked through the wall and we were immediatly in a child's room.

We both took off our bangle's and put them back in our hakama pockets. It was definitly her room. Everywhere you looked there were animal posters and stuffed animals. She had a small bed, an old dresser, and a stand with a small tv and radio on it.

"Oh lookie what I found"! I sweatdropped and looked over at my pink haired, red eyed hollow. She was holding up a book that was black and had a lock on the side of it. I giggled; it was obvious that Sakima had found Dominique's diary. There was a key on the dresser that was sure to fit the lock and sure enough the lock opened and we looked at the first page.

_December 31,_

_Today was my birthday! I'm now seven years old! My grandma gave me this diary and a black stone necklace. She said it belonged to her grandma when she was a little girl. I got to eat a chocolate cake with strawberries on it today! It was so yummy, I love chocolate and strawberries. Grandpa gave me a set of blocks that he made out of wood himself. Grandpa makes all sorts of stuff out of wood. He's good with tools. Mom gave me a new barbie doll and a sketch book. I put the barbie doll with all the others in the toy chest so that Lady would have a new chew toy when her other one gave out. I love my sketch book though, I love to draw so I drew the rose bush in the front yard. Time for bed, hehe._

I looked in the little box that was in the corner and sure enough, there were lots of barbies and other random dolls. She obviously didn't like girly stuff. Sakima started reading a random page that was set a few months later.

_February 17,_

_Today mom, grandpa, grandma, and me went to the court house. Mom said that she was divorcing my dad. Well she didn't say dad she said something like biological doner or somethin like that. When I saw my dad I felt unusually mad. I felt like all I wanted to do was to run up to the man and kick him in between his legs like they do on tv. I stayed in the hallway while they talked in the big room with lots of benches. I watched as grandma kept looking at me and rubbing my hand like something was wrong. When the grown ups left the room my 'dad' walked up to me and tried to hug me. I jerked away from him. I felt like I wanted to hiss and growl at him like my cats do when they get mad. Then my mom walked up to me and held her arms out for me. I walked up to her and hugged her. She kissed me on my cheek and then they went back into the room. A really long time later my mom and the rest of the grown-ups came out and then we left. I don't know what had happened but I was glad that it was over. Grown-ups are confusing._

_March 3, _

_Today grandma scared me really bad. She was walking with me around the block around her house when she fell and passed out. I was so scared. I ran as fast as I could back to her house and got grandpa. He got me in his van and drove down the street to where grandma was on the ground. Then all of a sudden there was an ambulance and then they took grandma to the hospital. Mom got to the hospital and she sat with me and grandpa in the waiting room. I drew in my sketch book to pass the time. Grandpa told me everything would be alright. We had to go home and grandma had to stay at the hospital. But mom said that we will get grandma back from the hospital tomorrow. I'm scared for grandma._

_April 26,_

_Today grandpa and mom were crying alot, and grandma had a funny look on her face. She looked sad but it was hard to tell. I asked why, but they refused to tell me anything. They think I wouldn't understand but I do, so I tricked my cousin Ember to tell me what was going on. She said that grandma had cancer and that she had fainted on our walk and that was what made her pass out. She also told me what cancer was. They think that grandma's gonna die. I'm scared and I don't want her to die._

I looked at Sakima, she had a soft look in her eyes.

_June 30,_

_Grandma's not getting any better. She's hardly ever eats and when she does she only eats a little bit. She lost all her hair because of the kemo therapy stuff. They said that it's fighting the cancer and helping her. I don't think it is though; I think it's only making things worse. I help grandpa and mom take care of her._

Both me and Sakima knew what was going to happen. We looked at the last page.

_August 1,_

_Grandma's gone. This morning I was feeding her breakfast in bed while mom and grandpa were working outside. She looked at me with her deep blue eyes that matched mine and patted my hand. She told me she loved me and then she closed her eyes. Her cold hand went limp in mine. I thought she went to sleep. I asked her to wake up so she could finish her breakfast and take her medicine, but she didn't move. It felt like everything went cold. I put my hand on her shoulder and shook her gently, asking her to wake up. She didn't move. I put my hand where her heart was and I didn't feel anything. I started breathing heavy when I heard a voice. It was grandma's voice. I saw her standing up right beside me. I looked back from her to her the other her on the table. I asked her what was going on. She smiled at me and told me that she had died. My eyes went wide and I started crying. She put her hand on my shoulder and told me to get grandpa and my mom, and that everything was alright. I ran outside and ran right into my mom's arms. She tried to calm me down, but I dragged her inside and grandpa came too. They saw grandma and then they started crying. They didn't see grandma's ghost standing beside me though. She patted me on my head and said that I was special and that I shouldn't tell them what I saw. All I could do was cry though._

I shut the diary, locked it and put it back on the shelf. I felt so bad for the child. No kid should have to go through that.

"Man that girl sure's been through alot already. She looked absolutely normal though. She must take bad things pretty well. I'm excited to see how she turns out". I grinned at her, even though it was a sad grin for what the poor child.

"Me as well Sakima. This is definitly getting interesting". I put back on my bangle and so did Sakima. We both jumped through the wall back to the outside. We stood outside for a moment. The sun was still up and it wouldn't go down for at least another four hours. I decided to go see something. I stabbed my blade into the air and called out the incantation to open the gate. I then stepped through and landed in the center of the squad 0 realm.

There were squad members and students everywhere. I walked down the pathway to where the dorms were. I saw two students making out and I whistled. They looked up, blushing and greeted us nervously. Sakima was snickering at my side and I was giggling right along with her.

When we finally got to Rose's room I stood at the doorway with Sakima. Rose was reading some manga from the human world with Sero playing a game on the computer on thier desk. I coughed conspicuously to get thier attention. Their heads shot up and she looked back at me.

"Hello captains Masaki and Sakima. Whacha need"? I giggled.

"I have a favor to ask the young captain in training. I would like to look at the future of this young girl named Dominique Kudo. She and my son share a zanpakuto spirit and they happen to be nearly the same age. They will both wield the zanpakuto Zangetsu. So I want to see if they will meet in the future. Only your zanpakuto, Hitarosu and Sero's zanpakuto, Usoratih have the ability to copy any shikai and bankai that has ever existed. I would like you to look into the future for me". She nodded and grinned.

"Now Hitarosu, change. False Shorai no Senken. See the life of Dominique Kudo". Her blade changed shape from its normal katana look to a small mirror with small decretive blades on the side. The glass turned from reflective to pitch black, then it swirled with colors.

Soon we saw a picture of Dominique standing in a meadow of some sort. She had Zangetsu in her hand and she had a deep gash on her left shoulder. Her eyes had fear in them. She was facing a white teenager-like hollow. The hollow looked strangely familiar…it was my son's hollow, but why in the hell was he a teenager and not a child?

Dominique looked older as well, she looked around ten years old here. She stood in front of Ichigo's hollow, looking like she was about to attack him. I looked at her eyes, they had turned a flat silver color. She rushed at the hollow and was able to pin him down to the ground. Just as she was about to deliver the finishing blow, she stopped and her eyes turned back to normal. She smiled at the hollow and then held her hand out to him. He took it and then the picture faded.

When the picture reformed she was older, but not by much. She was standing beside two hollows. One looked like her and the other was my son's hollow from the earlier picture She looked to be sparring with them. They were all smiling like battle crazed fools. She was in a different outfit that looked more like what Zangetsu wears. She achieved bankai, Tensa Zangetsu.

The picture changed again and it showed her standing in front of Rose. Rose was wearing the inverted hiori so that ment by the time they meet; Rose will be the captain of squad 0. The picture changed once again and then reformed.

She was walking down a familiar street in Karakura Town. She was definitely older here and she had an atmosphere of calm authority about her. She walked down the street and saw what could only be my son Ichigo fighting a bunch of skater punks. He then talked to a young whole and then started walking down the street. They looked into each other's eyes and then they both walked away with confused looks on their faces. This proved that they would meet.

The next picture was of Dominique hunching over Ichigo. He was lying in a pool of blood and Dominique was changed into a hollow-like form; she was shielding Ichigo from the rain with her white wings. Tears were streaming down her face along with the rain. That picture there had me worried, but it quickly changed again.

It was showing Ichigo and Dominique sitting together on the roof of the Karakura high school. They were looking into each other's eyes. They both leaned forward and they kissed. All four of us were frozen there in shock. Our eyes wide as we watched Dominique and Ichigo kiss. Then they were interrupted by a group of kids. Then the mirror went black and changed back to it's regular katana shape as Rose fell backwards, laughing her ass off; feet swinging comicly in the air. Sero was right there with her. I rolled my eyes and Sakima was laughing out loud as well.

"Well dang man! Ichigo and Dominique will get together! HAHAHAHAHAHA"! Sakima laughed out, doubling over herself. I couldn't help it, but I giggled too.

"Thanks Rose. Man that was sure something to watch. Get back to your training and I'm heading back for the human world". She gave me a salute.

"Sure thing captain! HAHAHAHAHAHA"! Still as rowdy as ever. She'll make one heck of a captain. I walked out to the center of the plaza as I opened a portal to the world of the living.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Over the next few years I would alternate watching both Ichigo and Dominique grow. Dominique, since she knew what she was seeing, would help out the wholes. Though unfortunately hollows were attracted to her. I had Siagon and Gonsai keep and eye on her. The kept the hollows away from her and kept me updated when something new developed. She had gained a friend over the years. Her name was Emma Moody who had a boyfriend named Shuan Sata. Dominique's reiatsu caused thier own powers to awaken and they turned out to be future shadow shinigamies as well.

Ichigo had gotten into karate class. He made a friend in Tatsuki. I knew why he wanted to leard karate all of a sudden. He wanted to protect people. He and I would walk home from the dojo every day.

Today was Ichigo's ninth birtday. We all had a picnic at the park. He played with Karin and Yuzu and Isshin acted his usual self. That night I tucked Ichigo into bed.

"Happy birthday my little strawberry". I whispered as he slept. I stood up and walked down the hallway. I could hear dishes clanking and water running; Isshin was doing dishes. I walked down the stairs and came up behind him. I put my hands on his eyes when I snuck up behind him. I laughed out, "Guess who"?

"My beautiful wife". I let his eyes go and he turned around to face me. I put a mock pout on my face.

"Wow you're good. Maybe I should start hiding my spirit energy. You seem to be getting your powers back little by little. I guess that stuff in the gigai is wearing off". He laughed.

"Yeah I guess so. I'm starting to see wholes again. How's the kids"?

"Same old, same old". I waved my hand teasingly at him.

"What about that girl"? I had told him about her when I found out that they were gonna hook up when they got older.

"Oh Dominique Kudo? Turns out that she's been using her ability to help spirits find peace. She's quite mature for her age. Heh, just like Ichigo".

"Yah that did shock me when you said that they were gonna meet one day. Even more when you said that they'd go together. I going to have a third daughter one day"! I sighed and giggled at his sillyness. That was one of the reasons that I fell in love with him. I kissed him before I went upstairs to bed.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Today was a rainy day. I was walking with Ichigo back home from the dojo. He insisted on keeping me dry from the water that splashed up from the rude people in cars speeding by. We were walking by the river, which was starting to flood but it didn't bother me; we were up on the hill. I had to stop and wipe Ichigo's face dry from yet another asshole.

He told me that he wanted to protect me from the water and that his rain coat would keep him dry. He was such a kind child. After that we walked further down the sidewalk. I got a familiar feeling of a hollow nearby, but I couldn't pinpoint it, and it was beginning to worry me.

Then Ichigo tore his hand away from me and went runing down the hill. I looked down and saw that he was running towards a girl who looked like she was about to jump in the river. Only it wasn't a girl. I saw something that was attached to its head. Ichigo ran down the hill and I called out after him.

"Ichigo no"! Sakima shoved me from my body as she sonidoed down to where he was while in my gigai as I tried to pinpoint the hollow's exact location. The hollow came from the garganta and clawed down the back of my gigai. Sakima luckily got out of it in time and I slashed at the hollow. It ran down a short distance away after she slashed through it's fur. I chased after it, full of rage for that monster even just trying to go after my son.

"You bastard"! Both Sakima and I screeched at the same time. I easily dodged the hollows moving fur and slashed at it's shoulder, meaning to cut it clean in half. It backed away just in time. It dissapeared through another garganta and I stood there in the rain with Sakima, fuming at the lowlife hollow's cowardice. Then I remembered Ichigo.

"Sakima"! She looked back and we were both off to protect Ichigo. When we got there we saw that my gigai was completely useless. I sighed a sigh of relief. When the hollow had slashed open the back, Sakima jumped out of it and it had fallen on top of Ichigo, hiding him from view. The back was completely torn and there was blood everywhere. Urahara would have to make me another one.

But before I could move it so Ichigo wouldn't see, he woke up and saw my dead 'body'.

"Mommy? Mommy"! He was crying and trying to 'wake me up'. I quickly put my bangle on and Sakima re-entered my soul. My head slumped forward in sadness. Soon Ichigo was surrounded by people and they carted my gigai to the hospital while someone offered to take Ichigo to the house.

I followed them to the house and watched in sadness when they told Isshin what they thought had happened. Ichigo was crying as well as Yuzu and Karin. Isshing looked beside himself when he got the kids up to bed. He went back down stairs when the kids were asleep.

I went up beside him. I wanted to tell him, but I think that this is for the best. I will tell him one day but for now...no. I walked up the stairs to the kids' rooms. Yuzu's and Karin's room was first. They were sharing Karin's bed tonight. They were hugging each other in thier sleep. Both had tear marks on thier faces. I gave them both kisses on thier head and walked to Ichigo's room. He was in his bed, sleeping on his back. Tears were still in his now closed eyes. I leaned down and kissed them away. I sang for him quietly.

"Sleep now my child, my baby, my boy,

sleep as the wind carries you,

listen just listen to what I do say,

what I do say to you. ~

Sleep now my child in the darkness of night,

watch for your shadow's first flight,

trust your own shadow for he is truly you,

just in a different light. ~

Sleep and ignore the monsters you've seen,

sleep and ignore them my boy.

Eyes of yellow, trust that fellow,

and hear me sing just for you. ~

Listen just listen for if I do leave,

I will always watch you.

Trust the twin and trust the man,

they will look out for you. ~

So if I do leave,

just remember my song,

this song is so you can meet 'her',

so listen, just listen my boy." ~

His face became peacefull in his sleep. I put my hand on his head and felt Zangetsu once again try to make contact with my mind. I allowed him access.

_'Masaki. Ichigo's hollow has fully awakened'._ My eyes widened in shock. It was still too early. Wait...damn. The amount of reiatsu exposier today was the cause most likely.

_'Yes. I guess I shouldn't be surprised'._ I laughed bitterly.

_'I was able to seal him away mostly. I sealed him away inside of myself, but not completely'._

_'How'? _

_'I split him in two actually. I was then able to get one half dormant again. I sealed the other half in Ichigo's hollow mask'._ The skull like mask appeared on his face, child sized and fully formed. I picked it up gently, my fingers carressing the cold bone. Zangetsu then continued, _'This half had for some odd reason changed into a teenager. I suspect that it deals with my aged reiatsu clashing with Ichigo's younger reiatsu. It changed his hollow into a teenager. I want you to keep an eye on the hollow so that Ichigo will get older before he has to deal with the life of a shadow shinigami'._ Something clicked in my head. That vision of Rose's. I knew what I had to do.

_"Hey Zangetsu. Why don't I give the mask to Dominique. Her powers are more advanced to I think she can handle it. I know she's still young, but...'._ She was in fact younger than Ichigo, but I showed him the vision that Rose showed me. He agreed and I told him goodbye for now and to keep Ichigo safe. I walked through the wall out into the now clear night. I decided to wait for a while before I would give her the mask.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I waited until the last day of October, almost two years later.

I went to America that night and found Dominique running down the street with another girl chasing her. Dominique was ten now. The other girl was laughing and Dominique, who was much older since I had last checked up on her, had an irritated look on her face. She ran behind a large tree, while the other girl ran further and further away from her.

She sighed as she sat down to catch her breath. I looked down at her appreciatively as I dropped the mask so it would fall through the branches and land beside her. She looked up and then the mask landed right on her forehead. Her eyes went wide in a comical expression.

_'Oops. Oh well...hehe'. _

I senced all the energy that eminated from the mask flow into the girl in that instant. Her reiatsu changed and the mask held no energy whatsoever. She sat there rubbing the lump on her forehead. She picked up the mask, her face didn't have any fear surprisingly, it had fasination. A good sign.

I heard her mom call for her in the distance, she put the mask in her backpack and raced toward her family. I smiled and shunpoed after them. I kept an eye on her the whole time. She was good at not showing that she had someone talking to her in her head. She dealt with it all pretty well for a full month.

Tonight was the night for her and Emma's slumber party. They were walking home after school when they were jumped by a man who looked like he was in his twenties, but at the same time looked aged as if he was forty. Drug addict, most likely.

He held a gun up to Dominique's temple. I was about to rush over to help them when the hollow's reiatsu engulfed her and her mask appeard on half of her face.

It didn't feel like she was being fully controlled by the hollow, but she was alowing the hollow to attack the man. They broke the man's wrist and shattered the gun that he had been holding. He ran and Emma saw the hollows mask on her face as it desintegrated.

She looked at Emma apoligeticaly, but Emma was gushing over what had happened. I listened as they talked about Emma's powers as well as Dominique's. I pulled up the spirit ribbons and I saw Emma's beside Dominique's. Emma's was white, red, green, and black. The white, black, and red didn't surprise me cause young shadow shinigami who haven't changed yet will have those colors, what did though was the green.

I flipped through my memmories and found that only shapeshifters had green spirit ribbons. Once they died they usually became shadow shinigami or soul reapers, but some never did at all.

Yoruichi Shihoine was the perfect example. She could change into a cat and was a close friend of mine, Kisuke as well and he was like a brother to Isshin. They could always cook up trouble and it was my job and Yoruichi's to keep them in line. Sigh. I was interested to see what this young one would change into though.

As they were sleeping, I felt Dominique's reiatsu spike dramaticaly. This wasn't good. I stepped into her room and saw her writhering on her bed. Emma was on her couch asleep. I put up several kido barriers around both Emma and Dominique. Sound proof ones around Emma so she wouldn't be desturbed and ones to keep Dominique in when she would change.

Her mask had already formed on her face mostly and her body was beginning to transform as well. I quickly used kage bakudo to bind her so she wouldn't destroy anything. It was only a matter of time before she fully hollified. I watched as Dominique's body began to grow and tear itself apart. I binded her arms and legs with a kido as well.

Then as suddenly as it started it stopped. Her body completely rid itself of anything hollow and all that was left was a sleeping human girl. I released the kidos.

_'Okay, this was way different. Wierd much'._ I had to agree with Sakima. This was so not normal. Then I remembered the show from Rose's Hitarosu a few years ago, how she had over powered Ivhigo's hollow, but didn't finish him off. She must have fought Ichigo's hollow and they made a deal or something. I was deffinitly sticking around to watch what happens next.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I watched as she kept living her life, but now and then she would seem to zone out and her eyes would glaze over. This was the sign that a newbee was talking with thier hollow or zanpakuto. As they gain more experience they'll be able to hide thier silent conversations better, till they get to the point where they are completely aware of thier surroundings, even when they are talking inside thier heads.

Dominique was pretty good though for a newbee. The moment someone got within five feet of her though she would wake up. I watched as she left her body for the first time. She had already learned shunpo and was good at it. She even preformed a konso that night too so that was good for her first time. I was watching one night that a low level hollow came and attacked her. I had let this one come to her unlike the stronger ones. I wanted to test her.

"Take this you ugly freak"! She slashed downward and cut the hollow in half with one strike. I smiled from my hiding place on the ground. She then called out in joy,"Haha, take that! Booyah"! She threw a victory sign into the air. I sweatdropped and shook my head in amusement.

_'Kids...'. _

All too soon though she turned twelve. In fact the very day she turned twelve Rose came up to her and offered her a place in squad 0.

Dominiqe excelled in the shadow academy. One day while she was off from the academy she was patroling the area around her home, a gillian attacked her. She had gone bankai and cracked the gillian's mask. Then one of her hollows took over and finished the hollow off with ease.

_'Impressive. She'll be a section leader if not a seated officer in no time'._ Sakima said apreciativley. I dissagreed with her though.

_"No. All the seat positions are full. She'll be a section leader but there is no way for her to be a seated officer for the moment'._ She had to agree.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I sat watching in a tree in one of the many squad 0 training grounds; the forest training ground to be exact. Dominique was going to fully hollify today to see if she would be one to have access to a hollow form at will. She was walking with Rose to the center of the training field.

"You know that if you start the change, you won't be able to stop until it's done"? She nodded seriously.

"Of course. I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't sure". Dominique said confidently. Rose grinned.

"Very good. Just stand there and focus. Good luck". Rose backed up a few paces to give her some space. Dominique nodded and then she closed her eyes. I watched as Dominiques reiatsu began flowing out of her in waves of energy. Her reiatsu was black with red on the edges. It then completely left her body as she opened her eyes and was flowing around her in a ring. Her hollow mask then appeared on her face as her eyes changed from blue to black and gold.

Her arms twitched and then seemed to grow. Claws ripped from her finger tips and horns shot out from her wrist. Dominique gasped behind her mask at the shock of the first pain. The thing about changing into a hollow completely for the first time is that it hurts like a bitch.

Her skin where the claws and horns had ripped out was completely white but there was a hint of blue. Dominique screamed as her hollow hole formed right below her neck. Dominique dropped to her knees as her feet ripped apart and changed to claws. Then her head flew back as she screamed again, her voice sounding like a true hollow's. A pair of huge wing ripped from her back and stretched outward. The wings ripped off most of the back of her shihakusho, showing a large blue mark that started from her back. It reminded me of a dragon, there was even a tail. That was when a long tail ripped from her spine.

Dominique was left crouching on the field as the rest of her normal skin fell away from her, until she was completely changed. The blue marking that started on her back flowed down her arm and I even saw a hint of blue on her ankles so it must run down her legs too. She stood up and her wings twitched. She took off her mask and smiled at Rose. Her shihakusho was almost completely shredded in the back.

"How was that"? She panted. Rose grinned.

"Perfect. I like the blue markings". Dominique grinned as she looked at her arms, down to her newly clawed hands.

"Cool".

"Now release it and change back to normal". Dominique nodded and closed her eyes. Her skin seemed to desintegrate as she changed back to normal. The only thing that didn't change was the dragon mark on her back, though it did shrink until it was small enough to tell it really was a dragon. Dominique swayed a little and fell backwards. She landed on her backside with a huff, but she was grinning like she just got a reward.

"Man I'm beat". Rose laughed.

"Well that's to be expected. You changed for the first time and it hurts. Now lets go get lunch before your next class". Dominique got up.

"Hey Rose, can I get a new shihakusho first, since this one isn't any good anymore"? Rose nodded and they were off.

I continued to watch as Dominique grew. By the time she turned thirteen she had been promoted to section 13 leader. She changed alot during the years. She was calm and collected, but she knew how to relax and have fun. She even started learning how to do other hollow transformations. She, in all had three changes besides her normal hollows mask.

She could change into her original hollow form that had the wings and claws and such. Then she could change into a full hollified dragon. The final form that she learned most reacently was a vasto lorde form. It looked like a mix of her first and second changes, but was unique in its own way too. She was still mastering the vasto lorde form with Rose.

Her friends became members of squad 0 and soon entered her section. Emma was a shapeshifter shadow shinigami. Her transformation was a wolf. There was Emma's boyfriend; Shuan, who was a shadow shinigami as well.

There also happened to be two other shapeshifters in the local area and they saw Emma and they changed into wolves as well. Emma had unintentionaly created a wolf pack like the ones up in Washington in America. There was also another shapeshifter who for some reason didn't have the single change block that all the other shapeshifters had. She could change into two forms. She changed into both a dark fairy and a tiger. She had wierd taste that was for sure.

When Dominique had turned fifteen, I thought that it was about the time for her to head to Japan. I saw a poster around town that the school was asking for a benifactor to pay for a select number of students to have a study abroad trip to...Karakura, Japan. This was the thing that would get her there, I knew it. I got a spare gigai from the squad 0 barracks and went to Dominique's school. I walked to the office and talked to the Principal and offered the needed money to pay for the trip for eight people that included the teachers to go to Karakura.

I told him not to mention my name that I was just an anonymous benifactor. If Dominique was going to meet Ichigo, she didn't need to know that I was his mother or that his mother was alive at the moment. He shook my hand and I was out of there pretty quickly. I was the one who would get Dominique and the others to Japan. Everything was now ready. This was it, time for the real fun to begin.

_'Bout damn time'._ Sakima thought exitedly.

Me: Okay I know that it has been for like ever since I friggen updated but the dang chapter had been deleted for some reason. Gomen. I don't know why but it just happened and I had to rewrite it all over again. I of course made changes and it took forever. Again sorry and the next chapter will be up much quicker cause I'm just editing it currently, so yah.

Breath by Breaking Benjamin

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	15. Homeward Bound

Me: As promised a swift update. I own nothing and sorry for all the swearing in this chapter. Parents just have that effect on people don't they. Hehe. ON WITH THE SHOW!

**Chapter 15: Homeward Bound**

Ichigo's POV

I was waiting in the terminal with Dominique, the rest of her American friends and my sister Nami. Dominique had given me a band-like thing to put on my wrist before we left. She told me that it would let me speak and hear english without any problem. Even though she had been teaching me English, I still had some difficulty with it.

Dominique was wearing a grin on her face that made me think that she had something planned or she already did something that would end up in someone being pissed off. When we got on the plane I found a place where both of us could sit. She sat back and immediately pulled her MP3 from her pocket and offered me an ear bud. I smiled and put it in my ear, I leaned back and releaxed with Dominique leaning against me.

"Can't wait for you to see my hometown. It's smaller than Karakura, but it's a nice little place. It's definitely not like the city". I could only smile at her as I kissed her on her lips. She blushed at the unexpected contact and grinned back at me.

After several hours of listening to music and being annoyed by Claire, Emma, and Shuan, the plane finally began it's descent into America.

When the plane landed we all got our stuff and walked out of the airport. I saw a large field that had palmetto trees scattered everywhere. Dominique looked up at me, "Yeah, Palmetto trees are our state's tree. So you're gonna see a lot of them around here, that and pine trees". Emma came rushing up to us.

"Yeah and get used to the heat. Today was actually a cool day. Normally it's much hotter, but since there are clouds in the sky; you'll just have to deal with light heat and alot of humidity. Rain too cause I smell it". She sniffed the air for emphesis. She then ran back to Shuan laughing and they started walking with their stuff down one of the streets.

Nami walked up to us as the rest of the group went on their ways. Everyone with a place to go and something to do. Dominique hefted her back pack on her back and started walking down one of the other streets. She stopped and then turned back to us.

"Well? Come on. We're going to my house. It's about a mile or so away and I don't wanna get wet". She said as she looked up at the cloudy sky. Nami grabbed her bag and I grabbed my own. Nami went running after her and I leisurely walked behind them.

Dominique was showing Nami and I the different parts of her hometown. We walked across a bridge that sectioned a lake in half. Both Nami and I were starring at a huge hole that was filled with boulders and logs in the center of the lake.

"What's that"? Nami asked.

"That helps keep the lake from overflowing and running into the streets and the lakeside houses when it floods. A few years ago a couple of idiot teens thought that they could beat the current with their boat. Let's just say that they're lucky that they lived after that crash". Dominique said with a shrug. That's when I noticed the mangled pieces of metal among the rocks and boulders.

She turned her head and started walking again. Both Nami and I sweat dropped and continued to follow her. Soon we were at a small white house that had a huge magnolia tree by it, at least that's what Dominique called it.

She walked right up the porch steps and was greeted by several cats. Well daaaamn! My eyes went wide at the sight. There were ten of them that surrounded her. She bent down and petted each one of them, calling thier names. Then she stood up and walked right through the door. Nami and I walked in behind her as the cats stared at us, for some reason each and every one of them had deep gold eyes. Though they all had to be different types of cats, weird. They reminded me of Yoruichi, even worse.

We walked into a homey living room. Her family was sitting in various places on the furniture; watching TV. I saw her two brothers, her mom and her dad. Her parents didn't look anything like her. Her father was extremely tall and had black hair like my dad. Man I thought I was freakishly tall for my age; he made me look like a midget, he was even taller than Chad.

Her mom was short like Rukia and had cropped blonde hair, while Dominique was just under a head shorter than me, with long chocolate brown hair. One of her brothers had short curly blond hair and the other one had cropped hair that was the same color as Yuzu's. Her family looked up like they weren't expecting someone to just walk right in their house. Then again they weren't. Each of them froze in shock.

I watched as her two brothers, who moved first, ran up to her and jumped up into her arms. She was ready for them, she caught them and swung them around in a circle with a large smile on her face. She hugged them close to her and I watched as her two brothers cried in her arms. They only looked a few years younger than Yuzu and Karin. She bent down far enough for them to get back on their feet. Dominique whispered softly in English. Thanks to the band that she gave me I could understand everything perfectly.

"It's okay. Don't cry. Shannon, Nick, it's all right. I'm back see? Hehe". She laughed nervously then I saw her parents run up to her and crush her in a huge hug. They were hugging her so tightly that her head rolled back on her shoulders and she collapsed in their arms from the lack of oxygen. They let go after a minute, thanks to Nami's and my pleading.

She fell backwards and thankfully I caught her before she could hit the floor. She had comic swirly eyes on her face before she shook her head to rid herself of dizziness from the lack of oxygen. She looked up at me, grinned and said, "Thanks Ichigo". Her parents looked from her to me.

"Who are you two"? Her mom looked at both Nami and me. Nami smiled while I scratched the back of my head nervously. I spoke up in Japanese that was translated by the band as we sat down on some of the chairs in the room.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki and this is my older sister, Nami Kurosaki". She looked at her daughter questioningly. Dominique gave a supporting grin to her mother before speaking with a small smile on her face.

"I have a lot to explain, I know. I think that I should start from the beginning. This is gonna sound weird, but bare with me,...I am a soul reaper". She said with a strait face. Both Nami and I sweat dropped. Her parents' eyes grew wide with confusion and shock. That was about as strait forward as you can get I guess.

...(akward silence)...

"What the hell is a soul reaper"? Her dad asked. She sighed as she looked at him. She took in a deep breath before she began, the smile completely leaving her face as she became completely serious.

"A soul reaper is a spiritual guardian to the World of the Living. We maintain the balance between the good and the evil souls that fill this world". Her parents and little brothers had confused looks on their faces. She then continued, "There are two types of spirits that normally inhabit this world, wholes; those are good spirits, and you know them as ghost. Then there are hollows; evil spirits that were once wholes who didn't cross over to the Soul Society". She held up two fingers for emphesis.

_'She seems to be trying to overload them with information so that they are too shocked to be mad'._ Hichigo said with a mental smirk. I ignored him for the moment.

"The Soul Society is a place where souls and purified hollows go to until they are reborn again as humans. Hollows are fallen souls. They lose their hearts and eat other souls to fill the emptiness inside of them. It is the job of a soul reaper to help wholes cross over to the Soul Society via konso, and to vanquish hollows so they themselves can go to the Soul Society as well". At least she didn't use crappy drawings like Rukia. I could practicaly feel that midget hitting me in the shin for just thinking that. Her dad spoke up again.

"So what you're telling us is that you fight evil spirits and you help ghost pass over to the other side"? She nodded her head. She had a hopeful look on her face.

"Yep. That's the jist of it". Her parents started yelling at her for making something so stupid and childish up, not to mention, using that as an excuse to stay in Japan even after the teachers came back. She closed her eyes and seemed to just sit there and let them yell at her. I looked at Nami and she had a worried look on her face that mirrored my own.

_'She's got some serious control. I would have hit somebody by now. I'm impressed'._ I thought to myself. When her parents were finally finished yelling at her, Dominique calmly stood up and pulled four small necklaces out of her pocket. She tossed them to her family.

"Put these on". I was actually shocked to see that she wasn't yelling back at them, she had some serious self control.

"What are these things"? Her mom asked in a relativly calm tone after her yelling fit. Dominique looked from her mom to her dad, then she looked at me and Nami. She cracked a grin in our direction before going back to serious.

"These are special necklaces that will raise your reiatsu levels just enough for you to see, hear, and touch spiritual entities. The effects of the charms will only work for as long as you wear them. Now put them on and I will show you the truth". They scoffed as if they still didn't believe her, but her brothers at least put them on. I stood up.

"What Dominique says is the truth. Heck when I first found out about soul reapers and all this mess I had the same thoughts as you do. Though I flipped a table,(XD)...but now I'm a soul reaper too". They gave me a strange look, but they put on the charms and then Dominique spoke up in an excited voice.

"Wait. I will be right back"! She ran off into the house. I heard her yelling for someone and then she ran back into the room carrying a stuffed animal that reminded me of a chicken wearing a sunhat and a summer outfit. She then said, "Before I change, I want you to at least meet my mod soul; Tsumi. Go on…you don't have to pretend you're a toy anymore". The toy twitched, blinked at us and then jumped up on Dominique's shoulder.

"Dominique, why are you showing me off to regular people? I can sense that those two are soul reapers, but your family? I thought I was just supposed to keep an eye on things here while you were over in Japan for your trip"? The mod soul was speaking Japanese so her parents had dumbfounded looks on their faces.

"Yes, I know. You've done well, but now the situation has changed and we need to explain things to my family. Oh and speak English please, for my family's sake". The mod soul nodded.

"Yes ma-am". She turned her head to Dominique's family and said, "I am Tsumi. I am the mod soul that was given to squad 0, section 13 leader; Dominique Kudo. My ability is shunpo or flash step in English, that way I am always ready to help out at any moment and able to get Dominique's body away from danger quickly". Her parents looked at the toy like it was a ghost. Hehe. Nami was giggling at my side.

_'Dominique sure does know how to put on a show'._ I had to agree with him.

"Mom, dad, now I'll show you what a soul reaper looks like". She tapped the toy on the back of her head and the soul candy fell right out. She then swallowed the candy and her soul came from her body. I didn't see why she just used her normal means of getting out of her body. But then again she is trying to explain things to her parents so I guess this is the best way to do it.

She stood there with her hands in her hakama pockets, looking right into her parents shocked faces. Her own face was calm and serious. Tsumi stood beside her with the same expression, mirroring her stance exactly. Tsumi definitly didn't act like Kon, thank goodness. Both her parents were stuttering like complete fools.

"But, but, you...soul reaper...mod...WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE"! Her mother yelled. Dominique looked back at us and nodded. I grabbed Kon from my bag, he was currently tied up and helpless. I used my badge and got Kon from the stuffed lion. Nami pulled out her mod soul Yuki from her rice ball toy. We both swallowed and left our bodies. Tsumi, Yuki, and Kon went to the couch and sat down.

Kon tried to pounce on Tsumi and Yuki, but only got smacked down. Dominique turned to the mod souls and she gave Kon a glare, he was sweating bullets when he said that he'd behave. Dominique then looked back at her parents.

"I told you; I am a soul reaper. To be exact, I'm a shadow soul reaper or as we call it, shadow shinigami. We are different from normal soul reapers. We were humans that were born with our abilities, that and something else. You see, to every person there is a dark side. A personal monster if you will. Dependent on who you are and what you choose, that monster can exist, unnoticed for most people, consume you, or fight alongside you. We shadow shinigami awaken our inner hollows; our own personal demons, and we choose to fight alongside them. The thing is though that most inner hollows are very talkitive, annoying, but once you get used to them, it's fun to be around them. In fact, here is my inner hollow; Shiva". Shiva materialized right beside Dominique grinning like a maniac.

They stood beside eachother. It was easy to see both the similarities and the differences this way. It was still shocking to see them like this, even though I'll probably be doing the same thing soon.

"Whatz up people"? Shiva said with a smirk on her face. Her parents flinched at the sound of Shiva's voice, even though she was using a lower tone and had an obvious air of joking in it. Heck I didn't blame them for being shocked though. Dominique's brothers on the other hand ran up to her and started asking her a lot of random, very kid like questions.

"Why's your skin white"?

"Why's your hair white"?

"Why do your eyes look weird"?

"Why do you and big sister have giant knives on your backs like that man there"? Shiva laughed softly and scratched the back of her head. Then Dominique's mom spoke up.

"This is a hollow? Do all hollows look like her"? At least they seemed to be taking it all in pretty well. Impressive...either that or they were going into shock. Dominique shook her head.

_'No shit you idiots'._

_'Shut up'._

_'Why'?_

_'Just shut up'?_

_'I asked why'?_

_"Dammit. Her parents are freaked enough so I don't need to be spacing out right now'._ I was glad that he couldn't come out like Shiva did. They didn't need to see him at the moment. They were freaking out enough.

_'So what'?_

_'Man, your a pain sometimes'._

_'I'm a hollow, that's my thing'. _

_'Just shut up for now or I'll get Shiva on your ass'._

_'Hehe...'.__ (Memory flashes)_

_'WOAH, WHOA, HEY! Dammit stop thinking about that! I don't need to be thinking like that right now'!_

_'Hehe'._I tried my best to pay attention to Dominique and tune out a very annoying Hichigo.

"No. Only inner hollows look like regular people. She doesn't even have a hollow hole. Normal hollows look like complete monsters. The sort of things they put in old horror films to scare people shitless". Her parents nodded seriously, and they were sweat dropping. Apparently Dominique didn't cuss much around her family. Personally I thought it was cute.

_'She doesn't look like the type to cuss, but she has a sailor's mouth sometimes'._ I thought to myself. Then Dominique continued her explination.

"Hollows usually attack souls of the dead, but they can attack living people as well. Especially if they have higher than normal reiatsu. We section leaders of squad 0 protect the people of the World of the Living. But we do not get into the affairs of the Soul Society unless necesarry. The Soul Society is the place where the normal soul reapers live. We squad 0 members can live in the Soul Society, the squad 0 realm, the World of the Living, or in Hueco Mundo; dependent on our experience and age and preferances. Hueco Mundo is where hollows reside when they are not hunting in the World of the Living". Then Shiva spoke up.

"Dominique has had her powers since she was ten. She joined squad 0 at the age of twelve and became a section leader by the time she was thirteen. Section leaders take charge of a group of shadow shinigami in the world of the living and report to the seated officers or directly to the captain if nessecary. Dominique stepped forward and put her hand on Shiva's shoulder.

"Shiva, no need to brag ya know". Then she turned to her parents, "But she is right. Ever since I joined squad 0, I get a paycheck every week. The money goes straight into my personal account. Heck that's why I never asked for money. I have my own. I have quite a bit saved up too, I put half of my check though in your account every time though".

"Why"? Her mom asked.

"Because I know my family needs the money more than I do. I would do anything to make sure my family stays together". She said with a loving smile on her face. The kindness and love on her face was unmistakable. I walked up to her and put my arms around her.

"Dominique". She looked up at me and I kissed her, she kissed me back with passion. I heard her mom gasp in shock.

"Dominique! What in the world are you doing"? Dominique looked at her, breaking our kiss.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Ichigo is my boyfriend". Dominique was smirking as she continued to lean back into me.

"You really have a boyfriend? Oh my! I'm so proud of you! It's about time"! Her mom cried out in joy. Dominique had a huge blush on her shocked face. Apparently she had not been expecting their reaction to be that.

"Please stop. You're embarrassing me". I chuckled and held her tighter to me. She looked back at me, "Ichigooooo"!

"Wait. If he's your boyfriend, then how are you going to keep up the relationship when he and Nami go back to Japan"? Her dad questioned. Dominique looked nervous and a bit guilty. She bit down on her bottom lip.

"I'm not going to have to. I'm going to Japan, with Ichigo and Nami. Emma and Shuan are also coming back with us. They are a part of my section, and members of squad 0 so they'll come too. We've been assigned in Karakura town by the captain of squad 0; Rose Reirei. Plus...I feel that Karakura is where I belong, with Ichigo. It's my home too". She said honestly.

"WHAT"? Her mom yelled. Dominique sighed.

"We soul reapers, and shadow shinigami, are in a war with the hollows. A regular soul reaper by the name of Sosuke Aizen betrayed the Soul Society and sided with the hollows. He wants to rule all three worlds. He killed the high court system of central 46 in the Soul Society and he nearly killed several of my soul reaper friends, he also tried to kill Ichigo and me. It was because of him that Nami was nearly killed and the fact that she was thrown out of the Soul Society". Dominique's face had grown dark as she explained. I held her closer to me as her parents backed up, fear hidden in their eyes from the darkness in Dominique's expression. Nami stepped forward before speaking.

"I am the remaining captain of squad 14. The other captain, my twin brother, was murdured before my eyes, not to mention my memory altered. I was left in the World of the Living to die". Dominique's mom gasped and her dad's eyes were wide. Then Dominique started talking about what had happened since she had gone to Japan and all the way up to the party that we had a few days ago.

I remembered the first day I saw her, that night that I became a soul reaper, and not to mention all the other little fiascos that had happened up to us going to the Soul Society.

I remembered all the fights that had happened. Jidanbo, Gin, the members of squad 11, Ikkaku, Renji, Kenpachi, Hichigo, Zangetsu, Byakuya, and then Aizen. And through it all, Dominique was there in some way. Soon though, it had grown dark outside, and Dominique spoke up to her parents about it.

"Mom, dad, since it's so late; can we stay here until the next plane comes in a week? We can talk more tomorrow". She said sweetly.

"Of course Dominique. Your mom and I wouldn't mind at all". They were still taking everything in. That was the most likely reason that they were allowing this.

"Thanks dad"! Dominique said happily. I turned back to Kon and the other mod souls. I walked up to my body and got back in it. I took Kon from my mouth and then I stuck him back into his stuffed toy body. He had taken off the bindings that I had put on it so now he could move. Shiva disappeared, then Dominique and Nami went back into their bodies. Then they put their mod souls back into their plushy bodies.

"Hey guys, follow me". Tsumi said excitedly. Yuki and Kon followed her through the house, who was acting like a tour guide. Then Dominique turned to her parents.

"We'll be in my room if you need anything". We all said our goodnights and followed Dominique to the back of her house.

We walked through a door and entered a medium sized room. It had a queen sized bed that had a lot of stuffed animals on it. There was a small TV on a small stand that had a lot of books in it. There was a overstuffed chair and a couch against the other wall. There were several little baubles on the wall; dream catchers, posters, and pictures scattered across it.

"Wow Dominique, your room is awesome...omygosh look at all the stuffed animals! YUKI, LOOK AT THIS"! Dominique looked at Nami and Yuki in embarasement as they gawked at her stuffed animal collection.

"Thanks. Take a seat anywhere you like". I sat down on the couch and Dominique jumped onto her bed. Nami sat down by her, staring in awe at all the stuffed animals on the bed. Just then a small cat jumped out from the masses of stuffed animals and jumped into Dominique's lap. I recognized it from one of the ones outside.

"Cute kitty". Nami said.

"Hehe, this is Monkey. He's my cat that stays in the house. I would be careful around him; he likes to bite on people. He plays rough". The cat jumped from her lap and padded up to Nami and put his paw on her leg. He dug his claws into her leg and then jumped up on her lap. He turned a few times and laid down. I looked at Dominique who was looking around absently.

"Your family sure is different than mine". It took a moment for her to respond.

"Yeah. But I love them. I would do anything to protect them". I nodded. Dominique hesitated and then turned to Nami.

"Hey Nami, look in your bag". Dominique smiled.

"Why"? She looked confused.

"Cause I brought you something that I know you'll love". Nami stood up and walked to her bag. She opened it and screamed in delight. She started waving around Urahara's hat in the air. At least now I know what Dominique had done before we left. She took Urahara's hat for Nami. Nice.

"THANK YOU"! Nami squealed happily as she put the hat on. Dominique smiled happily, and then jumped up.

"Well might as well get ready for bed, I have this week planned out, so we need some sleep. We're going to enjoy what's left of our summer vacation. I have lot's of things planned". She ran over to her closet and moved the clothes in it aside. She then pulled out several blankets and pillows. "I get lots of guest. All of them are my aunts and cousins. We're close, so they visit often, and these get used a lot". She handed us each a blanket and then told us to pick out what else we needed.

She put a large blanket out on the floor with several pillows on it. She laid down on it and told Nami that she could have the bed and I could have the big couch. It had lots of patches on it and looked old, but it was surprisingly comfortable. She told me that it was a hand-me-down from her old house that her family used to live in.

I laid down and Dominique turned out the lights before she went to sleep on the floor. I tried to go to sleep, but I was restless, so I got up about thirty minutes later and laid down beside Dominique on the floor. I looked down at her sleeping form. Her mouth was slightly open and she had her right arm over her eyes and her left arm on her stomach.

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her forehead. She curled closer to me and smiled in her sleep, her hands moved to my chest as she nuzzled closer to me. I soon fell asleep happily beside her.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV:

I woke up to Ichigo's arms around me. I snuggled closer to him and went back into a semi sleep state. Some unknown time later, I was woke up by someone yelling annoyingly. I blinked a few times to get the sleep from my eyes and looked up to whoever was screaming their head off. It was my mom yelling at me. I then remembered Ichigo's strong arms around me and then he woke up too as her yelling brought him into awareness.

"What's going on"? He immediatly went into alert mode. Then he saw my mom.

"What the hell is going on here"! She yelled. My mom was looking at me in Ichigo's arms with a look of pure rage. I could guess what she was thinking.

_'Oh shit. Great. I was hoping to save this conversation till later, but...dammit'._ Shiva laughed. We both knew what was coming.

"Do not tell me that you had sex in MY house"! She yelled at me.

_'What the hell? She thinks we had sex here? I'm not that stupid'._ I thought snidely to myself.

_'Skrew that now though huh? We've already been there, done that. Hehehe'._ (Memory flashes...)

_'Shiva, shut up, and stop having flashbacks. I so do not need to think about that right now. I need to have a clear head, and being hot and bothered so wouldn't help at all'._ She laughed again, but went silent.

"Mom. Chill out. We didn't do anything here". Oops. I hadn't ment to say that last word, me and my big mouth. Well that was the truth at least. I just hope she didn't pick up on the key word.

"Did anything **here**"? Emphesis on the word here. Crap.

"No mom we didn't do anything last night". I was gripping at anyway to get the topic onto something else, to try and save myself from too much embarassment. My parents were incredibly strict about sex before marriage. Stupid old fashion morals. Not that I could care less though, this was the twenty first century after all.

_'Please just don't ask if we-.'_ She cut off my inner plea.

"Have you had sex with this boy, ever"? She pointed to Ichigo, his face flushed red as he scratched the back of his head. Not really helping my situation I might add.

_'Well FUCK'._ I paused in my response. I looked at Ichigo. He was looking at me, his eyes were filled with trust...and a bit of embarasment. I sighed and looked up at my mom. I steeled myself for what I was about to say.

"Yes". Simple right? Now wait for the hell that was about to be unleashed.

"SHAUN! GET IN HERE NOW PLEASE"! She yelled, loud enough for anyone in the house to hear. I heard my dad walk in here with a sleepy look on his face. He looked from me to Ichigo and back to me. His eyes went wide then mom told him everything that she knew. Constantly pointing at me and Ichigo and talking about us like we weren't there.

I was getting more ticked off by the second. My fist were clenched at my side, my teeth clicked together; trying to keep from losing my temper. Having Ichigo sitting by me was helping quite a bit though.

Nami was still on the bed, but she didn't move even though she was awake. She just sat there, and she was incredibly smart for doing that. She so didn't deserve to get dragged into this mess. Ichigo grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. I closed my eyes and hung my head for a minute, taking a deep breath.

I squared my shoulders. Then I stood up in front of my now silent parents. I stood there, tall and fierce, as I looked down at my mom. I was now taller than her and I was now in my authority mode.

_'I will not take this anymore, time to get them off my back once and for all". _Shiva gave me approval as my they stared at me. I used my comanding tone that I reserved for section 13 duties.

"So what if we had sex? It's my life dammit! I'm not a child anymore"! I seethed through my teeth while I still stood, glaring down at my mother. Then an embarassed look came over my face.

_'I need to make her understand that I'm not going to be an obedient child who has no will of her own'. _ I thought to myself. continued in a softer tone; trying to be diplomatic.

"We were at a celebration/welcoming party. We drank soda and ate some food only to find out the hard way that the drinks had been spiked with sake. It was not my fault! We left the party to try and get sobered up. We ended up at his house. His family was still on vacation and so we went inside to relax and to spend some time together alone. We went up to his room and we simply sat in each other's laps". A fierce blush overcame my face.

"Then what"? My dad asked in an insulting tone. I sighed, my eyes closed in embarassment.

"We...had sex". I crossed my arms on my chest stubbornly with a huge blush on my face. "And don't give me any crap about that. It was our choice to make. We have our own lives to live and I will not be treated like some ignorant five year old"! My teenage temper flared. My mom had a fierce look of arrogance on her face. Here we go again.

"You are a child and you will stay in a child's place! You are still fifteen, and yes, you will listen to me and your dad". Anger flooded through me. I was so freaking sick of that over used line!

"I. AM. NOT. A. CHILD"! I screeched. I had my hands curled into claws at my sides and my eyes had turned silver. "I haven't been a child since grandma died infront of me! I lost every ounce of innocence that day"! I was now practicaly spitting my words through my teeth, and I was in my mom's face, "Then, when I was ten I met Shirozangetsu. He, at first, tried to take over my soul and destroy my very being! That night that Emma had stayed over at the trailer was the night that I fought him". I pulled my shirt to the side roughly to expose the large scar that was on my shoulder.

_'Let them get a good look at that'!_

"That is where I got my first mark of battle. I barely managed to beat him, and since then I've been a shadow shinigami. I also have other powers, I can turn into a hollow myself. I am one of the farthest things from a child. I am at least happy that my two little brothers do not have to live the same life I'm living. They have thier childhoods to still lead". I spoke out defiantly as I left my body in the normal fashion, my body fell back towards the ground, a lifeless husk.

Ichigo caught it before it hit the ground. I didn't even look back though. I didn't care even if it desturbed my parents, who were stuttering in shock.

"I thought you had to use that mod thing, Tsumi...". I smirked wickedly. A plan had formed in my head, thanks to Shiva, and I hoped that it would work. I only looked angry, but at least my head was clear. My eyes changed from silver to a greenish gray as my temper died down.

"Yes. But it's not necesary. I only did that for show. Now I will show you more of my power. Ichigo, Nami, follow me. Let's go outside". Ichigo and Nami stood up to follow. Ichigo was in a loose t-shirt and a pair of shorts, I swear if I wasn't pissed right now I would be oogling, I thank whoever invented tight ass shirts. Nami was wearing a nightgown that I had let her have while in Karakura.

We walked out the back door. The yard was blocked from sight by the several bushes and trees that grew around the fence. No one could see or even get back into the yard if they tried. I walked out to the center of the yard and Ichigo stood beside me while Nami stood beside him. Ichigo looked at me.

"Are you sure about this. They might freak if you show them that". He knew what I was about to do. "I was shocked when I first saw you like that, but I know who you are and I trust you". I smiled warmly at him.

"I know. I worried so much about how you would act when you found out about me. I was so happy when you accepted me. But I have to show them, plus this is to get them off the sex topic". We were talking in Japanese so my parents couldn't tell what we were saying. Well me at least, he still had his band on, so they would only hear half of the conversation.

We both looked into eachother's eyes and he nodded. Then I turned to my parents. I removed my shihakusho top to reveal the shozoku top underneath. I turned around to show them the saphire dragon mark on my back. They did the obvious thing; gasp. Hehe.

"This is my mark. I don't really know why I have it, but it's always been there since I first changed into my half hollow form. Only people who can see spiritual entities can see it, even on my regular body. I'll show you what I change to in a moment". I grabbed Zangetsu from my back, but I left the cloth around it. "Seal shut the night sky, Zangetsu". My blade shrunk until it was a normal sized katana with it's white hilt, black shieth, and four cresent moon hilt guard.

"Hey I didn't know you could do that". Ichigo said in surprise. Oh right, I'd forgot to tell him that I could seal away Zangetsu's shikai state.

"Yah. I've been able to for only a short while though". I said in Japanese, then I switched to English, "I use this form of Zangetsu for when I need to be stealthy. Which is hardly ever though thankfully, but now, scratch the sky, Zangetsu". Zangetsu changed back into it's normal form. Now for the fun part.

"Finally, bankai". I controlled my reiatsu so that it wouldn't spread out too much. My red/black reiatsu swirled around me in a circle on the ground. Tensa Zangetsu glittering beautifully. I always loved how the black blade shone. I stabbed my blade into the ground and then put my hand up to my face after I changed back into my shikai state. My shozoku top still showing.

"Dominique". I turned back to face Ichigo. He knew what was coming next. I smirked at him.

"Yah, I know". I made my mask appear on my face. My eyes changed from the greenish gray they had become thanks to my emotions, to black and gold. My parents gasped again. I lifted the mask off my face and walked up to Ichigo, my eyes remained the same. I put it on the side of his head. I giggled as he scratched the back of his head in embarassment. I then turned back to my parents who were successfully schocked.

"This is my hollow mask. By wearing this I can break the boundary between soul reapers and hollows. The funny thing is though that Ichigo and I have the same mask. I don't know how that happened really, but it's really no big deal. He can't summon it at will yet though, cause he hasn't gone through training".

"So you have both the powers of a soul reaper and a hollow"? My dad asked in a quiet voice.

"Yep. It's actually a whole lot of fun. You would not believe the freedom you get with these powers. Of course there are rules. But those are for the safety of normal people like you. For the most part, most shadow shinigami can only summon their mask. But those of higher levels can also change into hollow like forms. I have in all, three hollow forms besides my mask by itself. One I'm still training with, but the other two I can show you. They are my half hollow form and full hollow form". I've been learnind to control my vasto lorde form, but still...just not the right time.

I stepped away from Ichigo and Nami. My red/black reiatsu creating a black ring that looked like fire around me. Then it swirled up and engulfed me. My body went numb for a second from the change. Watching the change wasn't exactly a plesant experience when the reiatsu wasn't covering me, so I usually did this. The first time I changed hurt like hell, but now it just numbs my body for a second.

The reiatsu dissapated and I stood there with my hollow-white skin, the sapphire mark on my back spreading from my ankles to my wrist. The hollow hole in my chest was completely visable. I twitched my wings and my tail swished around elegantly, my claws resting at my sides.

"What the world"? My mom gawked. My eyes looked at them understandingly, if not a little smugly.

"This is my half hollow form. I retain most of my human size and shape. Now I'll show you my full hollow form". I did my best to make my high pitched voice sound comforting. My reiatsu engulfed me again and my body went numb again. When I finished the change, I was standing there on all four legs, my mask had left the side of Ichigo's head and had formed on my face as a dragon's muzzle. My horns forming a gracefull halo and my whole body was slender and sleek.

I opened a mind link to Ichigo, Nami, and my parents, and to two other eavedroppers. Emma and Shuan had made thier apperance, and were hideing in the magnolia tree.

_'This is my full hollow form. ...Hey Emma, _Shuan_, you both might as well come out. I can sense your presences you know'._ I chuckled a deep throaghty laugh. Emma and Shuan dived from the sky and landed in respective positions in front of me. They were embarrased cause they got caught spying. That's the only time that they act respectfuly. Emma was the first to speak.

"Sorry. We thought that something serious had happened since your reiatsu was fluxuating". I rolled my eyes.

_'Naw. I was just showing off a little to make a point. Now please stop bowing like that, you know I hate that. Just act your normal selves. You two never act like this normaly, anyway'._ They both stood up and grinned evil grins. I then continued, _'Behave though. At least make an effort to be decent. Especially in front of my parents'._ I huffed out a sigh and thier faces dropped.

My parents were deffinitly confused by this exchange. I sat back on my haunches and looked directly at my parents. Four shadow shinigami and a bount/soul reaper hybrid facing them was not a recommended way to begin a day.

...(Akward silence...again)

_'Wow...this is wierd. Might as well change back'._ My hollow body shattered and dissipated like dust in the wind. I was left standing there in my previous outfit. Heck at least this idea was working. My parents had left the topic of sex completly, if only for the moment.

"Well since Emma and Shuan are here, you both might as well share your info too". I grinned evilly at this. They looked at me like I'd turned traitor.

"WTH!" They both called out at the same time in Japanese. I could only snicker at thier anger.

"Fine. I guess I'll go first since I'm second in command in our section. As you know, Emma Moody's ma name and this is my hollow, Arteamus, and this is my zanpakuto". Arteamus appeared beside her. She looked like Emma but her hair was deep green instead of brown like Emma's hair or white like Shiva's, and her eyes instead of being black and gold they were black and crimson. Arteamus gave my parents her customary wolfy grin and then dissapeared again. She never liked hanging around for long. That and she had no patience for humans.

Emma giggled, then drew her blade from it's sheath on her back, and held it in front of her with both her hands on the hilt. "Now burn, Shinku no Chi". Shinku no Chi glowed deep red and melted in her hands. Everyone, besides me and Shuan looked at her in shock. The molten blade then moved to her hands and encased them both, hardening reshaping into deep, red, sythe-like claws. They hardened untill they looked like they were made of rubies.

She then held up one of her hands towards her chest. "This my bankai". The claws broke apart and swirled around her, then they burned to life with flames and soon she was surrounded by a storm of hardened crimson fire. She opened her eyes and said, "Shinku no Chi en no Arashi". Shuan grinned before stepping forward.

"My turn. Shuan Sata, as you know, Emma's boyfriend, and this is my hollow, Kuga". His hollow appeard at his side. His eyes were black with white irises and his hair was red. His posture was one of a prowling lion who didn't want to be here. Soon Kuga dissapeared as Arteamus had.

He drew his blade that was on his back as well. He held it with one hand loosely at his side. "Stab, Kuro Kori". His blade glowed and shrunk into a small, pitch black kunai knife with a silvery/blue cloth on the end ring.

The strange thing about their two zanpakuto, is not thier small size, but thier hidden power. Emma's blade, in shikai, if you get cut with one of her claws then she can literaly burn you from the inside out by literaly burning your blood. In shikai she has to get close in order to attack and burn the opponent, but in her bankai she can hit the enemy from a distance and there is a greater chance of hitting her target.

Shuan's blade in shikai is cold to the touch, literally. He can stab or slice with his Kuro kori. The thing that is really dangerous though, is that if he throws the kunai and misses, all he has to do is hold out his hand and his blade will come back to him, he can control the trejectery with his right hand. If he hits his target the enemy is frozen from the inside out, encasing the enemy completly in ice.

"Now for my bankai". His blade flew from his hand and flew above his head. It cracked and shattered into a million small fragments. They swirled around him in an ice storm. "Kuro Kori no Arashi". I yawned and stepped forward.

"Okay you two. Since you both are here...wait, first disengage both your bankai please"? They did. "Now, down to business, have Claire, Brandon, and Jessy left yet"? I asked my closest friends. They both nodded as they sheathed thier zanpakutos. I sighed. Well they were gonna live human lives. Ugh. Sucks to be them, but they did make a choice though. I turned back to Ichigo and Nami.

"Well why don't we go get some breakfast? Hehe". Shuan and Emma had already shunpoed off, to go deal with their own bussiness, then I walked up to where my parents were. But before I could even say anything, I felt the presence of a hollow appearing. Great. I growled and shot into the air, just as a hollow emerged from a garganta.

_'Dammit I forgot Zangetsu on the ground'!_ I changed into my half hollow form instantaneously and went to slice the hollow in half with my claws. It blocked my claws with it's own. I twisted around and slamed my tail against it's head. It was dazed for a moment and I took my chance. I held out my hand and Zangetsu flew right to me. I flew at it and sliced it's mask in half with the my blade. It dissapeared and I flew back to the ground. I landed lightly on my clawed feet and I released my hollow form.

"Well that takes care of that I guess. Sigh. As I was about to say before I was interupted. We can go to a local resteraunt for breakfast". My parents nodded slowly, still taking in what just happened. I hoisted Zangetsu onto my back. Tsumi appeared by my side, in my human body. She was grinning like a cat. She loved showing off by using shunpo while in my body. I got in my body and felt her toy body in my left hand. After I spit her out I put her in the toy. She jumped up and grinned at me again.

"You showed off just a little too much if you ask me". I stuck my tongue out at her and she shunpoed away, laughing. I led my still shocked parents into the house while Ichigo and Nami followed. My parents didn't seem to quite absorb every thing they had seen.

I told Ichigo and Nami to go get dressed. Nami took my room and Ichigo was kicked into my bathroom to get dressed. I got my parents to sit down on the couch in the living room to calm down. Shannon and Nick had woken up and were watching TV in their room. My parents looked at me with new understanding in thier eyes.

"Now you know pretty much everything. Please understand this though, I'm still the same girl that you've always known. You just know a little bit more now. The important thing is though that you can't tell anyone about me. Now let's go get something to eat cause I'm starved". I grinned happily at the two of them. I rounded the corner towards the boys' room, but I stopped so I could listen to what they had to say.

"Dina...our daughter...she's a monster". My hand went up to my chest and I clutched at the place over my heart as the pain and sadness flowed through me.

_'I should have known...humans...damn'._ I shut my eyes to fight back the damn tears. I gritted my teeth.

"No she isn't". My eyes shot open in surprise. "She didn't have a choice, just like she said. But she apparently made the best of it and now she protects people. You saw that scar on her shoulder. I remember when I first saw that. She wouldn't explain what had happened, but now I remember how she seemed nervous as if she was keeping a secret".

"She was. She didn't want us to worry about her". I heard the sadness in my dad's voice. I sunk to the ground silently, my chin resting on my knees.

"You saw her two friends. We've known those kids since they were little. They said that they were her subordinates, yet they were still her friends. She really is a leader...or whatever her position is. You saw that monster that had appeared out of nowhere? It was huge and looked like it could eat us, but Dominique sliced it to pieces in an instant. I had never seen her like that before. The way she moved...I can't even describe it. Then she came back and talked to us like it was no big deal and that it was like it happens everyday". There was a short pause.

"She's been keeping it from us all this time. She's been protecting us. Helping us and she never asked for anything in return". My mom cut him off.

"Yes she has. Just now. She's silently asking us to accept her. The least we can do is trust her judgement and continue to love her like we always have". Tears were brimming in my eyes. I was so happy. My mom continued, "I still can't believe she had sex though. But I will go with her judgement and believe what she says". I stood up, wiped my eyes quickly and walked into my brothers' room. They just had to get back onto that subject. I laughed gratefully to myself in relief.

"Get up you two! Time for breakfast"! I called out happily. I felt a huge wieght fall right off my shoulders. I could do nothing but smile.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Later on that day I took Ichigo and Nami to a local swim store. I was going to take them to a favorite beach of mine. It was a place called Hilton Head Island. The beach was pretty and the island itself was pretty fun too. We would take a bus up there. But first; swim suits.

This was going to be fun, cause I had seen a pair once and at the time I had given them no thought. One, cause they were boy trunks, and two, they were black with red strawberries on them. They would be perfect for Ichigo. Perfect because both Nami and I would get a good laugh out of it.

The thing is though, I need Nami in on the plan and for Ichigo to stay in the dark. If all went well my dad's old camera that he gave to me will get some use out of it tomorrow. We were walking down the street in town, the air was hot and humid as hell. It was a really good thing that I was used to it...that and I was wearing daisy duke shorts and a tank top with purple flip flops. Ichigo had kept staring at me all day. Kon though was being a pain in the ass, so I had Tsumi deal with him.

Once we got to the store we walked in and was instantly greeted by lovely cool air. We all sighed in releif.

"What are we doing here"? Ichigo asked me.

"I have something planned for tomorrow. So we need swim stuff. Hey, you go get goggles and boogie boards while Nami and I get the swim suits for you and her"? He nodded and went off to the other side of the store. So far, so good. Once we got to the guy's section I whispered in Nami's ear, "Hey I have a good idea. I know they have a pair of shorts that would so match Ichigo perfectly. The thing is though that Ichigo can't find out about him till he has to change into them, okay"? She nodded enthusiasticaly. She was in. Perfect. I led her to the rack that held the desired trunks. I found them, picked them up, and showed them to Nami.

She had to clamp both of her hands on her mouth to stop herself from busting out and laughing. We then started looking for her a swim suit. She skipped the one pieces and went strait to the two pieces. She picked out a red one with silver edges and a black ribbon in the middle of the top with a matching bottom piece. I settled on a silver one with blue trim that had a silver ring in the center with a black ribbon tied to it and the bottom piece had two black ribbons on the sides.

We went up to the counter and I paid for our stuff. Ichigo came back with three boogie boards and three sets of goggles that came with snorkles. I paid for those too and we left the store with our prizes. We walked to a local snow cone shop and we got a snack. The walk back wasn't as bad as the walk to now that we had our icy treats to keep us cool. I carried the bags with the suits just in case Ichigo decided to look into it and ruin my fun.

When we got back to my house I put the bag in my closet and got Ichigo and Nami to crowd around my TV. I pulled out a gaming system and a case of about two dozen video games. Ichigo's eyes lit up and Nami looked at me in confusion. I let Ichigo finger through my many games while I explained the concepts of games to Nami. She didn't get it at first but Ichigo found a game that he liked and he started the system and gave a controller to Nami.

She looked at it in confusion, but soon she was playing like a pro. Apparantly she was good at killing random, evil, gorey zombies. She was having as much fun as Ichigo was. When they would get stuck in an area I would offer my assistance or advice, but mostly, they had it down. For the momemt I lied back on my bed and fell asleep.

When I had woke up again I saw my dad beside Ichigo and Nami, playing the game with them. I smiled and quietly left the room as to not disturb them. I walked out to the back yard and sat down on the swing that hung from one of the magnolia's branches. I sat there reliving the time I had grown up here. We had moved here around the same time I had got my powers. I would miss this old house, but knew in my heart that I had to leave. I guess if I had never had gained my powers then I would have grown up to be a veternarian or something that dealt with animals.

Other than that...I had no clue what my future would have held. I've had my powers for the longest time and now I can't even think of living life without them. I heard a noise behind me. I slowly turned my head around and saw my mom walking up to me. She sat down beside me.

"Hi mom". She seemed hesitant.

"Why didn't you tell me before"? She asked. I looked down at the grass.

"Would it have been any easier? I don't think so". I looked up at the blue sky. "I wanted to tell you, but as you saw this morning, the world I now live in is dangerous. I don't want anyone getting hurt, so I kept you out of the know to keep you all safe. I would give my life to protect the ones I love". I said solemly.

"I know. You've been like that ever since I can remember. How long have you been able to see ghost"? I smiled.

"I really have no clue. To people who have just enough power to see ghost or wholes as we call them, they look like regular people. The first time when I first saw a ghost and knew it was about a year before grandma died. I was able to see the chain of fate when grandma died and I saw her spirit. I saw her after she took her last breath, just before I ran to you". Both my mom and I had sad looks on our faces, remembering that day. "From that day on I could see and tell who were ghost and who were living people. Thier chain of fates became visible to me after she died, because my reiatsu level increased due to my emotions. Captain Rose, when I first joined squad 0, told me that children who could see the chain of fates at an early age are the ones who are going to be strong". I explained.

"I just wanted you to know...I'm proud of you. I love you and I always will. I just hope that when you go to Japan...that you'll come back and visit often. Okay? I can't believe my oldest is already leaving". I hugged my mom and she hugged me back.

"Yah sure. I promise to visit often. Please don't go all emotional". She nodded.

"Good. Now, tell me...how old is that boy, Ichigo"? I jumped slightly.

"He's 16. I'm only six months younger than he is". She smiled at me.

_'Crap. I know where this is going'._ Shiva laughed at me.

"Why". My mom asked. I knew what she ment. I sighed.

"Okay. I'll tell you about what led up to it. No other info". She nodded, I swear my mom is still 17 at heart. I told her about the party. How we ate, drank and just hung out with our friends. I told her about us leaving and going to his house to get away from the spiked drinks. I finished with, "We went up to his room and one thing led to another...". A furious blush was plastered to my face. Surprisingly though, my mom laughed.

"Okay I understand now. Your face is so cute when you're like that. I haven't seen so much emotion in your eyes in years. I'm truly happy you found someone. You said that he needs to go through training. What sort of training were you talking about"? I laughed this time.

"He has an inner hollow too remember? Well I have to train him to control the power that comes with it. If you don't learn control early on then you could end up destroying yourself with the power. He could die from it. Our type of power comes with a heafty price". My face had grown serious. "Ichigo's body has to get used to his hollow being fully awakened. They will have to learn to work together. Ichigo will probably try to fight without his hollow's help, you know...guy pride. Hichigo, his hollow, will get agrivated for not being able to fight too and will start trying to take control. They will end up fighting for control and that will end up in dangerous situations, not to mention doing that is like stabbing yourself in the stomach. When a shadow shinigami and thier hollow fights for control in a battle, the body won't be able to move. The body will shut down and niether will benifit". She nodded.

"You said that you were now in a war. What war? I haven't heard of any major war in the news". I sighed, but giggled at the same time.

"A war between soul reapers and hollows. Humans don't know anything about it. It's actually been going on for thousands of years but it's always been at a stalemate though. Balance and all that. But now...there's a new threat. Squad 0 will have to move in and control the situation. We all need to sharpen our skills and train for the battles up ahead. But for now...I just want to relax and enjoy the rest of our summer vacation". I said as I looked up at the sky.

"Okay. I think I understand now, for the most part. I won't ask about anything else about your second life. Let's go on back inside and go watched the others play those mindless video games of your's". I mock pouted.

"Hey, they're not mindless. They take strategy, and I happen to like my video games". She laughed.

"Sure, whatever". We were both laughing as we walked into the house, but before we got inside she asked me something.

"How was it"? She looked at me like a teenager. Sometimes I forget how damn wierd my own mom can be.

"MOM"!

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I was standing on the same building that I stood on three months ago, that night before me and my friends left for Japan. Who knew that things could change so fast in just a few months. The major thing that had changed was that Ichigo and Nami stood beside me. Nami quickly flew off though to fill her need of exploration. Her wings soaring through the sky gracefully. That left me and Ichigo standing in the cool night air alone.

"You were right. This place is nice". He said with a small smile on his face.

"Yah it's alright. I already miss Karakura though". He looked at me thoughtfully.

"Yah. I'm happy for you. I'm happy that your parents accepted you". I sighed.

"I don't think they'll ever fully accept me though. It's just on the surface. Now what we have to do is explain things to your family when the time is right. As you can see my family is still scared of me, even though they say they trust me". My eyes were sad. Shiva materialized beside me.

"Yah. They are scared. Of me of course...and Dominique's hollow forms. Thing is though she hasn't shown them-"! I smacked her on her head sharply. She was so not going to go there.

"Shut up! I'm nowhere near ready to show anyone that yet. The only ones who even know about that are you and Captains Rose and Sero. So bite that blue tongue of yours for once"! I barked at her. She grummbled. I looked at her, "What? I didn't hear you".

"Fine! Alright! I won't tell them. Happy now"? She pouted and I grinned.

"Much better". Ichigo looked at us in confusion. Shiva was about to say something, but I twitched my fingers. She dissapeared back into my mind without another word.

"What was that about Dominique"? He asked. I shrugged.

"Oh nothing. It's just that I still haven't show everything that I have. You haven't even seen it in my thought and memories. You will though, when the time is right". He looked at me trustingly.

_'He'll have to learn about your vasto lorde form sooner or later. Heck he almost saw it when you lost control when you fought Aizen'._ She was right. It was a good thing the horns hadn't fully materialized, or I would have been given away.

_'Yah I know. Just not yet alright'? _

_'Sure, whatever'._ She said giving up.

_'Thanks'._

"Okay, okay. I won't pry". Ichigo answered, not hearing the discussion going on in my head. He didn't understand just how much that in itself ment to me.

"Good. Now lets get home. Tomorrow is gonna be fun". We both shunpoed off to find Nami and head to bed.

Me: Done and dusted! HAHA! Another chapter finished. Hoped you liked it. Stay tuned and please send me reviews. They make me happy. XD

Shinku no Chi- Crimson blood flame

Shinku no Chi en no Arashi- Crimson blood flame storm

Kuro Kori- Black ice

Koro Kori no Arashi- Storm of black ice

Shorai no Senken- Future seer (Previous chapter)

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	16. Vacation

Me: BEACH TIME PEOPLE!

Shiva: Shut up. It's only spring time anyway.

Me: Oh you shut up and I own nothing but my stories. Tite Kubo sensie owns bleach... Hey Kubo sensie, can I borrow Ichigo though for a while? Sike, just kidding! XD

Shiva: (Sticks out tongue at me) You were not kidding.

Me: (Whacks her upside her head) Shut up.

Shiva: (Glare)...

Me: (Glare)...

...FULL BLOWN WAR!

Hichigo: Lets get the chapter started shall we?

Ichigo: Yeah, enjoy people.

**Chapter 16: Vacation**

Nami's POV

I woke up to the smell of food being cooked. My stomach growled and I jumped out of Dominique's super comfy bed. I slept good after exploring last night. Ichigo was on the floor still asleep but Dominique wasn't with him. I looked around and saw the door cracked a bit.

I stood and quietly walked past Ichigo's snoring form. I opened the door and saw Dominique at the stove in the kitchen wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts with her hair tied up in a high ponytail. She was cooking alot of stuff, flitting around the kitchen expertly. I saw ham, sausage, eggs, and white stuff that looked almost like rice but was too soupy. (grits for those who don't know)

I walked out the door into the kitchen. Dominique noticed me and smiled; a wooden spoon held in her hand.

"Hey Nami. Hungry"? I nodded and my stomach growled at the same time.

"Starving". She grinned.

"Good. Hey go wake Ichigo up and my brothers too. My parents should be getting up soon anyway. I hope this is enough for everybody". I walked to her brothers' room and saw her brothers on thier beds. The older one was on the top bunk and the younger one was on the bottom bunk. I tapped them on thier shoulders and they woke up sleepily. I told them that breakfast was almost ready.

They reminded me of my brother. A memory filled my mind; one of me waking him up. He would always sleep late and I would usually have to smack him to get him up in the morning. Then the memory faded and my eyes teared up.

I turned and walked out the room, back to Dominique's room to wake up Ichigo. I felt joy at finding a brother in Ichigo, not to mention what he told me about the rest of my family that I would meet when I got back. I still missed my twin. All three of us agreed that we shouldn't say anything about it to mine and Ichigo's dad. Not to mention my little sisters who I'l get to meet when we go back.

I walked in the room and Ichigo was still snoring on the floor.

"Hey strawberry. Wake up". He didn't move. A tic mark apeared on my forehead. I put my foot on his face and started tapping his face with my foot.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up, ... WAKE UP"! I kicked him and he finally woke up. Man, why were boys so dense?

"What the hell"? He looked up at me and I had my arms crossed across my chest. My light brown hair falling in my face.

"Bout time. Dominique's making breakfast, come on". He got up and rubbed the spot on his head where I kicked him; mumbling something about how all girls seemed to be abusive. Dominique looked at us when we came out the room. Ichigo was still rubbing his head.

"Nice wake up call Nami". I grinned. Yuki jumped up on my shoulder.

"We're going on a trip today". Ichigo spoke up.

"Who all is going"? Dominique laughed.

"Just us, Tsumi, Kon, and Yuki too. You know, in case of hollows". Dominique said while stirring the pot with the soupy white stuff in it. Ichigo nodded at her. Dominique soon served the food on the table in the dinning room. I tried a little of everything, it was so good.

Soon her parents and her brothers left to either go to work and daycare. Dominique quickly cleaned up the house by herself while she had sent Ichigo and I to get ready, even though we offered to help. She told us to wear loose, comfortable clothes. I wore a green skirt and a pink shirt, while Ichigo wore a white shirt with a pair of red shorts.

By the time Ichigo and I were ready Dominique had gotten all the stuff together in the living room by the door. There was a bag that had all the goggles and also had a bunch of other stuff in it too. Then there was a basket that I could smell something yummy coming from. The boogie boards were there too and three pairs of flip flops were there. Dominique came up behind us.

"Ready to go guys"? I jumped up in excitement.

"YEAH"! Ichigo smiled.

"Sure". She pulled out a wallet and counted the money in it.

"That should be plenty for today. We have snacks and stuff for the trip and I have plenty of money to go shopping and get lunch and dinner. Okay, LET'S GO"! She grabbed the stuff and I made sure to grab my fair share. Ichigo got the boogie boards since they were the biggest. Ichigo and I followed Dominique out the door. She locked the door and started walking down the street.

It was sure hot today. Dominique didn't seem to mind at all though. We didn't walk long though like we had yesterday. We came to a stop at a small white sign that had the words Bus Stop on it.

"Now we wait here for the bus". She said as she put the stuff on the ground. We waited only five minutes, then a small white bus pulled up to where we were. Dominique walked on, then Ichigo and I followed.

"Where to"? The lady who was driving asked. Dominique pulled out her wallet.

"Three to Hilton Head Island". The driver nodded.

"That will be thirty dollars". She pulled out three pieces of paper and handed them to the driver. Then we went and sat on the back seats. There was no one else on the bus. When we sat down Kon, Yuki, and Tsumi all popped thier heads out of the bag that Dominique was holding.

"Sweet, road trip". Tsumi sounded excited. It took about two hours to get to the final stop. When we got off we were in a busy intersection that had a ton of people. Some had cars, some were riding bicycles, but most were walking like us. There were pretty flowers and other plants everywhere you looked.

"So this is where you were taking us"? Ichigo asked.

"Yep. Pretty isn't it? This is where me and my family used to go on vacation. It was always fun to come here. Now, to the beach"! She said as she pointed westward. I was confused.

"The beach"? I'd heard of beaches but I hadn't ever been to one myself. The closest thing I'd ever been to a beach is a cliff face that I had to jump off of for flying lessons.

"Yah. This place is a popular beach place. People come from all around just to spend a few days here". She explained with a knowing smile. I felt excitement growing in me. Dominique led us down the sidewalk, past shops and other places that were crowded with people. Then I smelled the sent of salt water. I inhaled excitedly.

"I love the beach myself. My family usually has a summer trip to Osaka every year". Ichigo said. Dominique giggled.

"And here we are". We entered a boardwalk type thing. There was a fountain at the entrance and the thing about it was it was comming directly from the ground and the water was shooting up at random moments. I turned to Dominique.

"What is that thing".

"That is the ground fountain. Kids can play in it and not to mention it's a fun way to get the sand off your body. We'll stop by it when we get ready to leave". I nodded excitedly. Dominique then led us to the restrooms. We went and changed first.

Dominique was in her silver/blue suit and I was in my red/silver one. We walked back out and Ichigo was there waiting for us. Dominique pulled a sunhat from the bag and put it on her head. She handed me one and then she handed Ichigo a bag that had his strawberry swim shorts in it. Just wait till he put it on. He went into the restroom on the guys' side and Dominique pulled out something from the bag.

"This is gonna be fun". She said with a smirk on her face while raising the little box in her hands. I giggled. Ichigo walked out with the shorts on and a huge blush on his face. Dominique was snapping away with the thing that was flashing and clicking. I was facinated with this object.

"Dominique"! Ichigo called out irritated. I was laughing at the blush on his face. I looked at the bag and saw Tsumi, Yuki, and Kon laughing away too. Even though they were trying to be quiet. Dominique put the thing on the bag and jumped on Ichigo. She had her arms wrapped around his neck. He whispered something in her ear and she blushed scarlet. I grabbed the thing and looked at it. It had a image of Ichigo blushing on it.

_'What is it? It must capture souls'!_ I thought. I accidently hit something and it flashed in my face. I blinked a few times and shook my head. I looked at the back again and it had an image of me, wide eyed.

_'So it doesn't capture soul. It's takes pictures'._ I giggled. I pointed it at Dominique and Ichigo and hit the button on top again and again. It flashed and the picture on the screen was of Ichigo and Dominique both blushing like crazy.

"Perfect". I did the victory sign with my fingers and put the image thing back in the bag as Dominique and Ichigo were looking at me like I was crazy.

"NAMI"! They both called out annoyed. I only giggled. Dominique was blushing as red as Ichigo now. I giggled again.

"What was that thing"? I asked. Dominique looked at me with shock.

"A camera. It's used for taking pictures of things to keep as memories for later". I grinned.

"Cool"!

"Okay. Now that we got the pictures out the way, lets go"! She said excitedly. We then started walking down the boardwalk. We past hundreds of people either coming to or going from the beach. The sent of the salt water was so strong now and it smelled so nice.

When we walked out onto the sand we saw a ton of people everywhere; from sitting on towels to swimming in the water. We walked down to where the tide wouldn't be once it got to high tide. Dominique grabbed a towel from the bag and laid it out on the sand. I ran strait to the water happily.

Dominique's POV

I watched as Ichigo tried to remove the blush from his face. I still cannot beleive he said that to me earlier. He had said that he'd rather see me in what I was wearing at his house after the party at Urahara's. I blushed so fiercely that I thought that my whole body would spontaneously combust.

We sat down and watched as Nami ran into the water. Yuki was looking around curiously while Tsumi was playing a videogame on my DS that I had brought. Kon was busy watching her get a new high score on a racing game.

I looked at Ichigo and he had a glazed look over his eyes; he was talking to either Hichigo or Zangetsu. He would have to learn to be aware of his surroundings when he talked to his hollow. He couldn't just zone out anytime they had a conversation.

_'Hey, what do you think they're talking about'?_ I mentally shrugged.

_'It could be anything. From embarassment to who knows what. Heck I think that Hichigo is making fun of Ichigo for the shorts though'. _That's when I saw a bunch of people crouding around a table in the sand and there were other people making stuff in the sand. It was a sand castle contest. I leaned over Ichigo and pointed to it.

"Look Ichigo! A sand castle contest! Let's go"! I grabbed his wrist and started dragging him towards the entrance table. I entered us and found a good spot. Ichigo even started helping out. Soon though we heard a scream. Ichigo and I looked up at the same time. I looked to the water seriously, I'd heard that sort of scream before.

"The sound came from the water. Let's go". I stood and took off for the water. That's when I saw the shark fin.

_'Shit'. _I called shark and those who didn't jump out of the water from the scream really started making for shore now. This place was a popular beach but every few years someone got attacked by a shark. Then again what beach doesn't? I looked for Nami and that's when I heard Ichigo whisper.

"Oh no". I looked out towards the ocean where the shark fin was. Nami was out there still! I called out for her.

"Nami! Get to shore"! She looked at me and then back at the water. She saw the fin and instead of swimming for shore she started swimming for the shark. SHE WAS NUTS! Both Ichigo and I called for her. She went under the water and there was alot of splashing. I looked as hard as I could but I didn't see any blood. I had gotten knee deep in the ocean and then I saw something that made my jaw drop to the floor.

Nami began walking in the shallow water, dragging the shark by it's caudal (tail) fin to the shore.

_'Holy hell! How in the world did she do that'?_ I was shocked beyond belief. I mean, someone in a gigai shouldn't be able to do that. Even I wouldn't have been able to do that. Sure I'd have been able to send spiritual pressure into my arms and punch the crap out of the thing, but not to this extent. Ichigo had the same expression on his face that I did. Nami's face was filled with pride.

"Lookie what I got, a hollow"! I looked back and all the other people where staring. She put the shark on the sand.

"Nami what in the world did you do"? She looked at me questioningly.

"This isn't a hollow"? I sighed and facepalmed myself.

_'Great. Looks like it's time to test out that kido that Emma taught me. Well at least I don't have to use that little memory eraser of Rukia's anymore'._ I walked up to where the shark was as people were screaming. I then blasted the shark with a low energy cero from my fingertips. All there was left was a small charred spot that I covered with with sand with my foot.

Normally I wouldn't have killed an innocent creacher, even a shark, but if it had attacked anyone...the humans would have caught it and let it suffocate slowly. With this method at least it died instantaneously and painlessly.

"Kage bakudo number 3; Shokyoki". I said as the silver net left my hand and passed over the surrounding humans, leaving them all with blank faces. Ichigo looked at me.

"How did you do that"? I sighed.

"Emma taught me while we were in the Soul Society before we got back". He nodded. I turned to Nami.

"That wasn't a hollow, it was a shark".

"What's that"? I groaned again.

"Sharks are animals that live in the oceans". She looked at me like she didn't get it. I put my fingers on the bridge of my nose.

"Umm...hey lets go get some ice cream Nami". Ichigo said placatingly.

"Ooo! YAY"! We started hearing people as they were yelling out what they thought they had seen.

"I saw a hotdog dancing"! I deadpanned.

"I saw a sumo wrestler eating a candy cane"!

_'Wow these people are f-ing nuts. They're as bad as Orihime'._ I thought, deadpanning to myself.

"I saw a tank on the beach"!

_'WTF'!_

_'Humans'._ Shiva muttered. I agreed with her.

"I saw an elephant on the beach"! I sweatdropped at all the things I was hearing. Ichigo was doing the same thing and Nami was standing there smiling. That was when I felt the presence of a hollow. The bad thing was I felt the familiar feeling of a hollow hunger in my chest, the empty feeling of hunger where my hollow hole resides in my hollified forms. I tried to ignore it but it began clouding my mind within seconds.

_'Damn. I forgot it's been a while since I ate'. _The only reason why I hadn't eaten that hollow from yesterday was becuase my family had been in immediate danger. Not to mention the fact that I took it out before the hunger could set in all the way. It would be really bad if it did. I would be more dangerous than the stupid hollow ever would.

_'Tell the others to stay while you take care of it, so they can have fun. Give them the money so they can go get the ice cream'._ She had the perfect idea. I turned to Ichigo and Nami.

"Hey guys, there's a hollow nearby so I'll go deal with it. Yall stay here and have fun". They looked at me in confusion. Ichigo was the one to speak up.

"Why"? I giggled.

"I've come here plenty of times. Yall go have fun and here's the money for the ice cream. Hey Tsumi"! She was on my shoulder in an instant.

"Hey. What's up"?

"Take care of things here while I'm gone okay"? She nodded and I popped her out of the stuffed animal to swallow the small green pill. I left my body and shunpoed off towards the west. As soon as I was out of sight of Ichigo and them, I changed into my full hollow form to hunt. I flew through the sky and used sonido as well. I landed on a hotel near the entrance to the island. My claws digging into the cement, my neck craning in order lock on to my prey.

There was a large hollow that was about to attack a bunch of teenagers at a pool party. I smelled that each of them were drunk, the scent of the beer was strong in the air, and it stung my super sensitive nose. The hollow was going after easy targets. I growled in anticipation, my muscles bunching and tensing, and jumped from the building, diving towards the hollow.

I grabbed the hollow by its neck in my jaws. It roared, cussed, and fought against my hold but all it did was cause my teeth to gouge further into the hollow's neck and it's blood to flow into my mouth. I was surprised that this hollow could speak, much less give me the cussing out it was but the instant the blood touched my tongue I really didn't care.

I took off in the opposite direction of the teenagers. I flew and looked for a clear place to eat, my eyes scanning for a potental clear place to land. I landed on a golf course and pinned the hollow on the ground. I bit a chunk of the hollow's flesh, reared my head back and swallowed the bloody meat. The flesh turned into energy inside of my body and spread through out me. My thoughts muddled as I let my instincts take over and dove into the meal, ripping and tearing.

The hollow still struggled but I continued to eat. My instincts had too much of a hold on me, to do otherwise.

Ichigo's POV

I soon followed Dominique after she left. Nami stayed at the beach, eating ice cream and Kon was in my body. I was at a good distance when I saw a huge white streak land on one of the golf courses. It was Dominique in her full hollow form...with another hollow in her jaws. She pinned the roaring hollow into the ground. She ripped off a piece of the hollow and swallowed. She was eating it, and I was surprisingly not freaked out.

_'This must have been one of the things that she was telling me about that she wasn't ready to show me'. _If it had been someone else, and had I not known who Dominique really was I would have either ran screaming or attacked. She continued to tear off pieces of the hollow and devour it. Soon there was nothing left.

_'Freaky huh'?_ Hichigo spoke up with pride in his voice. He then continued, _'You'll have to do that one day. All shadow shinigami who have hollow forms have to'._ So I would have to eat hollows too?

_'Wait, I have a hollow form'? _

_'Duh, dumbass. What? Did you think that you wouldn't share some of Dominique's extra abilities'?_

_'You have a point there'. _I walked towards Dominique. Soon my pressence registered with her and she flashed around and snarled. She looked like a very pissed off animal that was interrupted durring a meal. She looked like a fiece predator and I had just become her next target, yet I felt no fear. She then seemed to recognize who I was and straitened from her crouch.

She stared at me and a shocked growl came from her throat. Blood dripped down from her muzzle and onto the grass. I felt her presence in my mind, I could feel her emotions; worry, guilt and a twinge of fear. The fear had me confused.

_'Ichigo'?_ Her feelings were flowing through me in that one word. I nodded. She twitched guiltily.

"It's okay. Hichigo just told me. You have to eat hollows right"? She looked at me and I could feel the shock comming from her.

_'Yes. Ever since I first changed into my half hollow form and went through the training, I've had to eat a hollow every now and again. The last time I ate one was when Uryu released the hollow bait and brought all those hollows to Karakura'._ So that's why we hadn't seen her at first. Now that I remember she also seemed much more energetic after she got there too. I walked up to her and she looked at me cautiously. Her head falling to my level so that I could look strait into her black/gold eyes.

"Please relax. I get it. Hichigo explained it to me. Come on, lets get back to the beach". She looked at me in shock. I put my hand on her bloody muzzle, making sure to not actually touch a part where there was blood. She looked at me and then a blue forked tongue came from her mouth and licked the blood from her fangs. I chuckled.

_'What's so funny'?_ She asked.

"You know I'm not really afraid of you". A playful glint came into her eyes.

_'You know you really shouldn't have said that'._ The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with Dominique pinning me there with her claws. Her muzzle rested right above me and I laughed again.

"Yes you are a terrifying monster. Now can I get up"? She tilted her head to the side.

_'Close your eyes for a second'._ I did what she asked and then I felt a light pressure on my lips, her's. I opened my eyes and saw Dominique leaning over me, straddling my waist.

"Surprise". She grinned. I grinned back.

"Yeah. You know I wouldn't mind if we did this more often". I emphesised what I said by placing my hands on the tops of her arms and moving them slowly down to her elbows. She blushed crimson.

"Yeah but I think it would be best if we wait till we're back home". I knew she was talking about Karakura and at the moment I was seriously wanting to go back home now if only to enjoy being with her.

_'Man I am such a perv'._

_'Yes, yes you are'._I scoffed.

_'As if you're any better'. _

_'...Don't really care, and anywho, it's fun._ I couldn't argue with him on that. I looked at Dominique.

"Yeah you're right. Lets head on back to the beach now so that Kon doesn't do anything illegal in my body".

"Okay". She grabbed my hand and we shunpoed back to where Nami was playing with the videogame that Dominique had brought. Kon was sitting there in my body beside Tsumi who had a pissed off look to her face and Kon's expression was one of guilt.

"What did you do now Kon"? I asked, even though I already knew what he did.

"I only wanted to go have fun". Tsumi spoke up.

"I kept him in line". She had a triumphant look on her face. Dominique sighed.

"You didn't do anything bad did you"? Tsumi grinned.

"No I didn't do that. I wouldn't want to be the point of your fury". Dominique grinned at that. I got back in my body and put Kon back in his stuffed animal body. Dominique did the same. I could feel several pained spots on my body. One that seemed very close to a certain area. No wonder Dominique asked Tsumi if she did anything. We all started going back into the water. We all played with the various things that Dominique had brought on the trip. Soon we all started on the boogie boards.

Dominique was actually pretty good on a boogie board. She would stand up on it at times as if she was surfing. I'd have to take her to Osaka one time to go surfing on my surf board.

I outdid her though. She huffed and swam to shore. I saw her leave her board with our stuff and jump back into the dark water. She disappeared under the waves. I looked around and suddenly felt something grab my ankle and I was dragged under the water. The brace that kept the boogie board attached to my ankle came off. I kicked my way back up to the surface and looked around. I saw Dominique looking at me, only her eyes above the water, and her hair floating around her from her pony tail.

She held the boogie board above the water and in the air and then it dissapeard. I looked back and saw Tsumi with it as she set it with Dominique's board. I then turned back to Dominique. She slipped under the water and I felt her hands on my chest. I went to grab her but she moved out of my range.

_'I swear she is so, so,...'. _I was at a loss for words.

I ducked under the water and felt around for Dominique's spiritual pressure. She was circling around me at a surprising speed. I then remembered how she had swam while in her inner world, she was as home in the water as she was in the air or on land. I stayed still and then I felt Dominique's hands on my shoulders. I twisted around and wrapped my arms around her waist. I brought us up to the surface.

"Gottcha". I said huskily. She giggled.

"Yep. Now what are you going to do with your prize"? She asked as her legs wrapped around my waist and she kissed at the base of my neck. My face darkened and Dominique laughed.

"Not fair". I accused. She nipped at my neck.

"Life ain't fair, but you can enjoy what ya got though. But later, now it's getting late. Let's go get cleaned up and ready for lunch". She released her hold on me and we both started swimming for shore. Nami followed us and we sat down to eat our meal that Dominique packed. She had made several sandwitches, and had different types of soda. Nami tried the soda and grinned. She was still getting used to American food. When we finished we went to the ground fountain and Dominique iniciated a game of tag with Nami.

_'I swear she is like a child sometimes'._I had to agree with him.

_'Yah but don't piss her off. When she get serious...well I'd hate to be her target'. _I admitted.

_'Ditto'._ I then looked around and noticed that out of the dozens of people that were at the fountain, Dominique and Nami were nowhere to be seen. I looked around in confusion.

"BOO"! I jumped and saw both Nami and Dominique standing behind me, giggling.

"You know Ichigo, you need to be more aware of your surroundings when you're talking to Hichigo". She giggled again. I swear she could be serious and playful at the same time. She was a little menace.

_"Both of them". _

_"Yes". _Both her and Shiva knew how to drive us insane. She grinned once again, as if she could read our minds.

"Come on let's go. I wanna go shopping for some new books before we head back to Karakura". We went to one of the benches and dried off with the towels. The sun began to beat down on my neck soon enough. It was definitly hotter here than in Japan. When we were all dried and we got back into our clothes we followed Dominique to a plaza. It was much like the mall in Karakura.

"Come on lets go. I wanna see what they've got to offer". She ran ahead and went into a large book store. She was showing Nami all the books that she had read before and that she would let Nami read. She picked out several books, one that surprised me. It was a copy of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespear. I walked up behind her as she was looking at it.

"You like Shakespear"? She looked at me and grinned.

"Yah. I like the old fashion english. It's hard to understand and it gives me a challange. Plus Shakespear was a pure genius with all the poems and plays that he wrote". I felt happy at that. Just another thing we had in common.

"I agree". Soon we left the store and we walked through wildlife conservation places. Dominique seemed to really enjoy herself. Nami was facinated with all the things that weren't familiar to her. I was enjoying myself actually. All too soon though, the sun was beginning to set.

Dominique took us to a restaurant and told us to get whatever we wanted. I didn't understand much of what was on the menues, but each dish had a picture and I picked a steak with a side of vegetables. Nami picked a pasta with chicken in it while Dominique got a steak with french fries.

"How is it"? She looked from her plate. I was eating mine and I noticed how bloody her steak was. She had gotten rare meat.

_'She's always had a taste for rawer meat'._ Hichigo said snidely. Nami spoke up.

"This is awesome and today has been so fun. I do sort of wish that you hadn't have destroyed that shark though. I wanted to play with it some more". She shook her head.

"That would cause attention to be brought to us. It's dangerous to be the center of attention when you have abilities like ours. Humans aren't supposed to know anything about our world until they join it themselves". Nami nodded in understanding. I finished off a piece of steamed squash and Dominique looked at me.

"What". I asked.

"How can you eat those nasty vegetables"? I looked at her in shock.

"What you don't like this stuff"? She shook her head.

"No way. It's slimy and it taste nasty. I can't even get it down my throat half the time". She winced.

"I don't like them either". Nami spoke up.

"You don't know what you two are missing". They both stuck thier tongues out at me.

"Rabbit food". Dominique said snidely. After we finished we grabbed our stuff and headed to where the busses were. We got on it after Dominique paid for the return trip. I ended up sitting in between Dominique and Nami. Nami leaned against the window and looked out into the night while Dominique fell asleep leaning against my side. Her hair surrounded her face like a halo.

When we got back to the house her family had already eaten dinner too. I somehow ended up alone in the living room with Dominique's father after everyone went their seperate ways to get ready for bed.

"Hey...Ichigo was it? I want to talk with you about something". He said seriously.

_'Oh crap. I know where this is going'._ Hichigo laughed at my distress.

"Sure Mr. Kenn". I followed him into the back yard where Dominique had showed them her powers. He sat down on a set of chairs that surrounded a grill by a large wooden shed.

"Okay. Now I know I haven't known Dominique all that long, but I have known her longer than you have". I was shocked to hear that.

"What do you mean"? He sighed.

"I'm am Dominique's step father. My two sons are my own though. The first time I met Dominique was a few days after her grandmother died. She didn't like me much at first. She put on a happy face, but her eyes gave her away. Even then they changed colors according to her moods". I didn't know that she hadn't liked her dad at first.

"She's gotten better at hiding things like that". He laughed.

"Yah, I can see that now. On Holloween when she was ten she had a large bruise on her forehead. She told us that a pinecone had fallen on her head. I guess it was that mask that she told us about. After that she seemed more distant than ever". I nodded. It was one thing to hear about her past from her but another to hear it from those who weren't directly involved.

"She told me that she was afraid at first after Shirozangetsu revealed himself". I said. He nodded.

"She'd always been a quiet one but after that night she was even more recluse. It made both her mother and I worried". He paused. "She never did mention what happened to that Shirozan-person". I sighed.

"He's no longer Shirozangetsu. Shirozangetsu was originaly my inner hollow but was split into two beings and one was sent to Dominique. He fused back with the other half and is now Hichigo. Hichigo is my inner hollow". To prove my point Hichigo pushed my control away and spoke through my mouth. He did it so quickly I wasn't even able to do anything.

"Yep. Unfortunately I can't materialize myself like Shiva can at the moment. I'll tell you though that I pretty much look just like Ichigo here, but white like Shiva". He gave me back control and my scowl deepened.

"Hey, give a guy some warning next time". I said out loud. Dominique's dad laughed.

"Seems like you two get along pretty well". I nodded. I couldn't imagen what my situation would have been if Dominique hadn't been here.

"Yah I guess. He's a pain in the ass though sometimes". He chuckled again.

"Well let's head on back in shall we? Oh and one other thing, you better be good to my daughter or else". I nodded.

"Of course sir, but either way, she can kick my ass any day of the week if she wanted to. That's how she got Hichigo here to listen". I smirked at all the times I'd seen her pissed at one person or another.

"Yeah. Night". He went into the house and I stood there to look up at the night sky.

_'Your dad and Dominique's dad sure are different'._ Hichigo said with a laugh. I had to agree. I felt a pang in my chest though. Dominique had both her parents, and two little brothers. Pretty much her family was the exact opposite of mine. She doesn't have her real father with her and she has two brothers while I have my dad and two sisters.

The big thing was my dad never remarried. He loved my mom too much.

"Mom". I whispered. I then walked back into the house with one last look at the night sky.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

I took Ichigo and Nami to other fun places for the rest of the week. We went to the lake, to the arcade, and to the movies. Today was the last day of our week here. I planned to take them to the festival that my family was going to today. Yuki still hadn't gotten a new body yet and I wanted to surprise her with one today, and one for Tsumi.

Not to mention taking them on thrill rides. When we got to the festival we heard the loud music playing on the speakers and all the other people running around and having fun. A chilly wind blew through the air, signaling that cooler times were on the way. We all wore light pairs of hoodies.

We rode on various rides and played at least thirty games. Nami had won a huge stuffed dragon toy that Yuki had decided that she wanted as a new body. We each had fun. Soon Nami went on her own way by riding some rides with my brothers and parents. I walked around with Ichigo towards a field off to the side of the festival.

The sky had become cloudy as the day went by. We walked hand in hand towards a patch of woods that were at the top of a hill. I flopped backwards onto the cool grass and closed my eyes with my hands resting against my head.

I didn't hear anything so I cracked one eye open and looked at Ichigo.

"What? Come on and sit down with me". He turned and layed back beside me in the same exact position that I was in. I sighed as I looked up to the sky.

"You're gonna miss this place". Ichigo asked quietly. It wasn't a question, just a statement of a fact.

"Yeah. I mean this is where I was born and raised. I've never really known a life outside of this small place. Well Karakura has given me a reason to leave here and I'm taking this chance to move forward". I thought of all the times that I had here, the good and the bad.

"I'm glad you're comming back with us". He looked away from me while blushing. I rolled over and pulled myself up on his chest. His blush grew darker.

"Man and I thought I blushed easily". He looked at me and I grinned. He placed a hand on my cheek and I leaned into it while my eyes closed. I then felt his lips brush against mine and I sighed happily. I opened my eyes to look into his.

That's when I saw a rain drop land on his forehead. I giggled. We both stood up and soon rain started to fall. We both looked up as the rain came down. I smiled as the rain fell on my face.

"You like the rain"? He looked at me questioningly.

"Yeah. You"? He shook his head.

"No. Rain for me has always been of bad memories". I had forgotten. His mother had died while it was raining.

"I know. But you know what? Rain joins the sky and earth together. Rain gives life, and personaly to me, every time it rains it's like the sky is crying, you can always tell if its happy tears or sad tears by the type of storm...man that sounds cheesy doesn't it". He grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, sort of". He admitted. I sighed.

"Oh well, hey lets go stand over there until the rain lightens up". I motioned to the trees which were thick enough to keep the rain off of us. He grabbed my hand and entertwined our fingers as we walked up the hill. He leaned against a tree and I leaned up against him.

All too soon though the sun showed itself from behind the clouds. It was close to the horizon so it had gotten pretty late already. I personaly didn't want this moment to end because it was just plain comforting. That was when I heard a faint russle of leaves. I looked to my side just in time to see a head of brown hair with a rose braided into it.

"Boo". Rose said quietly. Ichigo jumped, I didn't. She was in a gigai, as was Sero who was standing behind her laughing her ass off as usual. Ichigo looked like he had almost had a heart attack.

"What the hell"? He asked in a loud voice. Rose busted out laughing.

"What? Surprise. I wanted to come see how you all were doing, oh and to give a heads up. The 13 court guard squads have two new captains. Luna Meikyuu, who is captain of squad 3 and Nami Kagamiran who is captain of squad 9". She grinned.

_'Nami'?_ All I could think of was our Nami.

"Uh, Rose? What do they look like, cause Ichigo here has a sister named Nami". She nodded.

"I know. Me and her are good friends. She had gone missing a few years ago and we had been trying to find her, but turned to find out she showed up on your doorstep, out of thin air". She sighed nonchalantly. My right eye twiched.

"Wait you knew that Ichigo had an older sister and his dad was a soul reaper? Why in the heck didn't you let me in on the secret"? I whined. She had her hands behind her back and looked at me with her innocent face.

"Cause, it didn't seem to be important at the time ya know". Sero looked this way and then back to Ichigo and laughed. I deadpanned and sweatdropped.

"What's with her"? I asked my captain. Rose looked back at the loudly laughing Sero.

"Oh you know, she's always like that". Ichigo sweatdropped. Rose then changed the subject as she looked at Ichigo, "So how's the training going".

_'Crap. We haven't even started'._ I decided to lie quickly.

"Just great. He should have control of his hollows mask in a few weeks". Sero walked towards us.

"Liar, you aint even started yet". I blushed.

_'Damn'._ I rubbbed the back of my head embarassingly. Sero had always been able to catch me in a lie.

"Not true. She keeps drilling me on how I should work with Hichigo even though he can be a pain in the ass". This made both Rose and Sero stop laughing.

"Well good then and how has that turned out"? He nodded.

"At least we can have a conversation without thretening to kill each other half the time". I laughed, Rose and Sero joined in as well.

"Well that's good then. So I guess we'll be leaving. Works a bitch ya know". I nodded.

"Yeah". Sero grinned.

"Oh and you know that soon you're gonna have to go back to the barracks to sign those documents". I groaned. There was nothing more that I hated more than paperwork.

"Sure, sure, I know". I waved it away as if it was nothing. They then started walking down the hill and then opened a gate to the squad 0 realm. I checked my cell phone and saw that I had two text messages. One from my mom and one from Emma. Emma's said that she and Shuan were ready to go and waiting for tomorrow. My mom's told me to meet them at the car. The one from my mom was almost ten minutes ago so Ichigo and I began making our way back to the others.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Once again I was standing in the airport terminal with my family. The only difference this time was that I wouldn't be comming back for a long while. Even though I felt sad for leaving my first home, my heart was at peace because I would be with my friends and most importantly Ichigo. I had left most of my spring/fall attier in Karakura and I was bringing practically my whole closet of clothes with me.

Then again I didn't have much anyway because I didn't care for flashy clothes. I would have to get some more winter gear though because Ichigo told me that it snowed every year in Karakura. A prospect that had me excited.

I hugged my mom, dad and my two brothers. Shannon and Nick were crying and my parents were holding back the tears. It hurt to leave them but I knew they would be safe though. They still had the charms that I gave them so they could now see spirits and I gave them Rose's number in case of emergencies. I didn't want them hunted down because of me.

I walked onto the plane with Ichigo and sat down by a window. Emma, Shuan, and Nami finding their own seats. I plugged in my music and looked out onto the land that was once and will always be my home. As the plane lifted into the clouds and further away from my childhood home, a single tear fell down my face as I closed my eyes.

Ichigo wrapped his arm around my shoulder and I leaned into his embrace. One thought filled my head, both Shiva and I thinking as one as we leave behind the world we've always known.

_'Goodbye...'._

Me: OMG. This chapter was hard as hell to write at first but I finally got it. All it took was for me to read all the past reviews that I had gotten over the course of the story and bam! I felt the insparation just bitch slap me in the face. I can't believe I wrote it actually. First it was happy then it went to sort of sad at the end. Dang that's messed up.

Shiva: Well you are messed up after all.

Me: Shut up.

Ichigo: I can't believe you two are still talking right after fighting eachother to near bloody pulps. Rose had to heal yall again.

Hichigo: I thought it was hot.

Ichigo: Perv.

Hichigo: You know you were thinking that way too you know. (Points finger of doom)

Ichigo: Shut up teme.

Hichigo: AM NOT!

Ichigo: Uh, yes you are.

Me: Behave.

Hichigo: HAH!

Shiva: You, come with me. (Grabs Hichigo by the ear and drags him off to do who in the hell knows what)

Me and Ichigo: (Shudder)

Ichigo: Don't want to know.

Me: More lemons...

Ichigo: (Blush)

Me: (Blush)

.

.

.

(Both shunpo off to who knows where) PS: I've rewritten chapters 1-11, just so ya know.

Vacation by (I don't know who sings it but I got it off the first pokemon movie, hehe.)

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	17. Return to Karakura

Me: Time to head back home. YAY! Oh I own nothing just so ya know.

Shiva: Duh.

Rose: (Appears out of nowhere) Hey.

Me and Shiva: Hey Rose!

Sero: We about to spar.

Me: I bet on Rose!

Shiva: Sero!

Me: The usual?

Shiva: Duh.

Ichigo: 1...2...3!

Hichigo: BEGIN!

(Huge explosive battle)

Me: Winner will be shown at end of chapter. XD

**Chapter 17: Return to Karakura**

Dominique's POV

I plopped down on my bed in our house and sighed in contentment. It felt good to be back and to actually be on a bed again. Nami was living at Urahara's until her power increases and she can return to the soul society. Emma and Shuan shared a room on the bottom floor. I was the only person on the top floor. I was happy for the solitude. I looked at my bag, filled with some of my winter wardrobe, books, and other valuable things. I would have to go shopping for more winter clothes. I sighed and put the stuff up in their appropriate places.

I found something that made my eyes tear up. My little brother Shannon had drawn a picture of Shiva and me in our soul reaper forms with color pencils, and stuck it in my bag. Nick drew Ichigo, Nami, and I in crayon.

_'They sure do like to draw'._ It made me happy to see the pictures. I put them up on the desk with my laptop and my MP3. I then continued to put up the rest of the stuff. I soon got bored though. I looked at the calendar and sighed again. Two days from now school would start; I hated human school, but it was better here than in America at least.

I sat down in a beanbag chair to start reading the book that I had gotten from Hilton Head Island; Romeo and Juliet. I was about two pages in when I felt Ichigo's reiatsu nearing the house. I looked up in surprise, I smiled and put the book down and looked out the window. He was down at the door. He opened it and walked right in.

_'What's he doing here'?_ I was seriously confused, but happy. I walked down the hallway to where the stairs were. I jumped over the railing and practically flew to the bottom step, thank goodness that I wasn't wearing any shoes, otherwise I would have most likely fallen flat on my face. I was always more agile barefoot.

The bad thing was though that I almost landed on Ichigo. If he would have taken one more step I would have landed on top him. He jumped back in shock.

"WOAH"! He yelled. I staitened up from my crouch, and looked at him curiously through my lashes.

"Oh, sorry Ichigo. I was comming down to meet you. What's up"? He pulled a small box from his coat, that I just now noticed on him. He was dressed nicely, formal almost. He gave me the box.

"Open it". I opened the box and saw a small neclace in it. The chain looked like it was made of scales even though it was a only one simple cord. The pendent was what got me though. It was a dragon, intracate, silver, with two small yellow topaz stones where the eyes were supposed to be, the dragon itself looked like it was in mid-flight with its wings fully extended. I felt my throat tighten and gently picked the neclace out of the box. I was barely able to whisper out anything at all.

"It's beautiful". He grinned and took the neclace from my hands. He stepped up behind me and pulled my hair up to fasten it around my neck. The dragon rested right beside my grandmother's pendant. He whispered in my ear.

"While I was walking around today, that caught my eye and I thought you'd like it". I smiled happily at that.

"Thank you Ichigo. I love it". Shiva was even stunned into silence. She hadn't been expecting him to do something like this. Niether had I for that matter.

"Now that we have that part out of the way, would you go on a date with me"? He said with a nervous blush on his face. It took a second to register that sentence in my head.

_"Holy crap". _I could not believe that Ichigo had just asked me out on a date. I didn't think he was the type of person to like those sort of things.

_'Say yes you dummie'._ I ignored the dummie part.

"Of course Ichigo. I'd love to". He smiled triumphantly, and I blushed.

_'Much better'._

"Give me two minutes please"? I asked. He grinned at me. I could not believe we had a sappy teenage couple moment. What was this, some crappy, corny reality show from MTV?

_'To hell with it. It's still fun even if it is corny as hell. Not to mention it's actually real and not put down on some stupid script'. _I ran up the stairs and to my room like the impatient teenager I am. Tsumi was on the bed looking up at me in her mountain lion plushi body.

"So whatcha doin' tonight"? She had obviously been listening. My face grew red and a tic mark appeared on my forehead.

"I'm going on a date with Ichigo. The others can handle any possible hollow attacks. If any of them ask, don't tell them squat. Behave though okay"? She grinned in her new body. I had thought it was perfect so she could look almost like Kon, even though I liked this one better.

"Sure thing". She gave a mock salute with her paw. I walked to the closet and looked at my choice of clothes. I didn't have much to choose from. The most formal outfit that I had was that damned blue dress that I wore to Urahara's party. I was so not wearing that, and anyway I hated dresses, well except for the type I wore to the fireworks festival. Kimonos were one thing but those things that are considered dresses these days were scary.

I shuddered at the thought of those tiny scraps of fabric that were supposed to cover your body, but actually just showed it off. I grabbed a black tanktop and a deep red skirt with a deep blue jacket like think that went over the tanktop. I grabbed the black stilletoes from the bottom of the closet and got dressed quickly. I put the shoes on and walked down the stairs with my pocketbook over my shoulder. My hair was already tied back in a loose ponytail at the nape of my neck so I didn't do anything with it.

I saw Ichigo at the bottom of the stairs. He held out his arm and I wound mine in his. He was wearing a dark jacket and a tight shirt with brown slacks and shoes that I didn't know the name of. He opened the door and we walked out into the late evening. I looked up at the sky a moment, towards the setting sun. I sighed contently and Ichigo looked at me questioningly.

"I like sunsets. They're beautiful and when they are over they give way to the cool and mysterious night. Night has always been a time of peace for me". It was true, even before I became a shadow shinigami I loved the night. I would sneak out my room at night to just sit in a tree in my back yard to look at the moon and stars. Ichigo led me to a train station and we boarded. Once we got to our destination we went to a nice little restaurant that served sushi. We talked and bantered at eachother like as if we were at school. Then after that he led me to a place that had the sign Duchess Berries on it. By the way it looked it was a dessert shop. We went inside and walked up to the counter.

"Pick whatever you want". I looked at all the stuff. There was chocolate galore, but everything was expensive as hell. Ichigo grinned at me and said, "We're not leaving till you do". I picked out a small box of chocolate covered jelly strawberries. He paid the cashier and I looked around. All the other girls were staring at me and Ichigo with longing looks and the boyfriends faces were pissed. I smiled to myself.

_'Ooo, look at them stare. They jelous. Sweet'._ Shiva said happily. Being a normal teenager for once was pretty nice. I normally didn't like being the center of attention but this was actually fun. We went back to his house and was greeted by his dad flying out and attacking Ichigo.

Ichigo was on the ground and his dad was on top of him, looking like he had acomplished some big feat. I looked at them curiously as Ichigo threw his dad off of his back and kicked him back into the house. I giggled as Ichigo looked at me then back at his dad on the ground with an exasperated look.

_'Seems fun'._ Shiva laughed.

_'Yah'._

"Ichigo my boy, you have improved". He groaned. I laughed out loud and Ichigo's dad looked up at me from his place on the ground with Ichigo's foot on his back. "Hello, Ichigo who is this"? Ichigo blushed. I then noticed that Ichigo's sisters were standing at the door and looking at me.

"Hello, Mr. Kurosaki. My name is Dominique Kudo. Hey Karin, Yuzu, nice to see you again". They both nodded at me and looked from Ichigo to me and back again.

"Ichigo. You missed dinner". Yuzu looked at me. Ichigo stood up and brushed the dirt from his outfit.

"Don't worry Yuzu, I ate dinner with Dominique here". Then he was knocked back down to the ground by his dad.

"Ichigo! You finally got a girlfriend"! Ichigo threw him off again.

"So what"? All three of them looked like they had been expecting him to deny it.

"Nice Ichi. You actually got a babe. Impressive". Karin was looking at me with approval. Then suddenly I found myself caught in a crushing hug. I could only see short black hair and a short beard.

"I've finally got a third daughter"!

"Get off of her you damn perv"! I felt the hug release as Ichigo's dad flew off of me from the force of Ichigo's kick.

"Ichigo. Why do you two have to be so rough"? Yuzu asked worriedly.

"Goat Chin got what he deserved". Karin interjected.

"Why don't you come in. I can make dessert"? Yuzu turned to me. I smiled.

"No thanks". I blushed. "Ichigo already got me something". I held up the bag from Duchess Berries as proff. They all looked at it in surprise.

"Nice strawberry. That place is expensive as hell". Karin said. I giggled.

"We're heading up to my room. Do not enter my room under pain of death". He looked at his dad who's head was smoking on the ground from Ichigo's kick. I followed him up to his room. I sat down on his bed just like the night of the party. He sat down at his desk this time though. I giggled again.

"Your family is pretty cool". He scoffed.

"Yah, but my dad is nuts though". I nodded. He was definitly not normal. Then again he was a soul reaper after all. Soul reapers tended to not be normal. I'm sure as hell not. But as the old saying goes, 'I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it'.

He pulled the box of sweets from the bag and passed them to me. I took one of the jelly strawberries and bit down.

"Oh man this is so good". The candy rocked. Ichigo looked at me while he nibbled on one of his candies. That's when I heard whispering. I nodded to Ichigo and pointed to his door. He got up and yanked open the door to see his sister Yuzu and his dad with two glasses by the door and Karin just behind them with a dissaproving look on her face.

"I told you two not to do that". Karin sighed out. Ichigo started yelling and his dad had comic tears on his face and then he ran down the stairs yelling about Masaki and his children and how they treated him like dirt. That only caused me to laugh as I continued to munch on the jelly strawberry.

After Ichigo and I talked for a while and just relaxed, he walked me back home. We kissed goodnight and then Emma and Shuan bombarded me after I shut the front door.

"What were you out doing"? Emma asked with an evil smirk on her face. I deadpanned. Shuan had an equally evil grin.

"Yeah. You weren't out doing anything bad were you"? I threw my hands up.

"Of course not! Ichigo just asked me out on a date. He took me to dinner and dessert and that's it". I tried to explain while my face heated up with embarrasment.

"Oh yeah"? Emma leaned forward and sniffed the air. I scoffed.

"No I didn't do that so you don't have to use your wolf smelling to see whether or not I had sex". I blushed furiously as I scowled at her. Emma nodded curtly and then grinned.

"Yeah. But I do smell chocolate". Emma said. Shuan whined.

"Awwe man. Why didn't you bring us back some"? I rolled my eyes.

"My date, my chocolate. None for you"! I slipped into the russian accent that acomponied the movie line, as well as the finger of doom. Shuan then grinned.

"The pendant too"? Emma then looked at the dragon pendant on my chest.

"Oooo! Lookieloo. A neclace, dinner, and chocolate. Man. Ichigo sure is a gentleman. You are one lucky girl my friend". I blushed and then sidestepped out of their way. Then I took off for the stairs and started my way up. I forgot about the stelletos and almost tripped, but thankfully I used the side bar to hoist myself the rest of the way up the steps. I then ran to my room, shut the door, and then locked it from the inside. I giggled.

_'Some things never change huh'?_ Shiva asked. I laughed.

_'Nope. They sure don't. They'll always be that way'. _Shiva laughed at my comment. We both then fell silent. Even though they don't change...some things do.

_'You miss them don't you'?_ She asked kindly. I nodded.

_'Yeah. But I made my choice and now I can't regret it becuase I know I'll see them again when all this mess is over. Oh and tomorrow, we're gonna start Ichigo's training'._ Shiva got excited about that.

_'Torture time'?_ I laughed out loud.

_'Torture time'._ I agreed. Tomorrow will be fun.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Ichigo's POV

After I took Dominique home I walked back to my house. I walked slowly as I reminised over what had happened.

I had found that neclace in a jewlery store and surprisingly it was cheap. The store owner had told me that it was a new style that she had been trying, but it didn't seem to sell. She had been about to take it off the shelf and have it melted down for other use when I had come along. She got a sparkle in her eyes and said that I could have it half off since she had been about to give it up. I gladly took the offer and she even offered to gift wrap it for me. After that I had quite a bit of money left over and I decided that instead of just giving Dominique the neclace I would ask her out on a date as well.

Her face had lit up when I asked her. When she had come down the stairs she was dressed nicely, but simply. It suited her perfectly and the neclace stood out nicely. When I took her to Duchess Berries her eyes went wide. I had guessed that she liked chocolate like me and I was right. I still had the rest of my half of the chocolate left. I could not believe that it had gone so well, without a single hollow appearance at that. She even put up with my family.

I fell onto my bed and the springs squeaked. I then heard yelling at my door and soft pounding.

"Ichigo, Ichigo, let me in please! I can't take this anymore. Your sister is driving me insane"! Kon yelled. I stood up and walked to the door and let him in. He ran in the room with a dress on. I snickered at his misfortune. Maybe I could use Yuzu as a punishment if he didn't listen and keep my body out of trouble. Whatever the case I laid back down on the bed and went to sleep, ignoring Kon's whining.

All in all, a good day.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"IIII-chiiiii-gooooooooo"! I heard my dad yell as he barged into my room, trying to tackle me. I simply stepped to the side and he broke through the window and onto the concrete of the sidewalk in front of our house. I leaned out the window to look at the pathetic scean.

"You know you old man, one day you're gonna break your neck doing that". He continued to twitch on the ground, but soon he got back up and ran back in the house. I sighed and then looked back at the window. I saw Dominique coming this way wearing a pair of cotton pants and a cotton t-shirt, with her hair tied in a braid. I leaned out the window again.

"Hey". I called to her and she looked up at me.

"Hey...". Her eyes went wide and she blushed. That was when I relized, I wasn't wearing a shirt. She continued, her voice even, "Wear some easily moved in clothes today. We're gonna be doing something fun". I looked at her in confusion, but I quickly got back in to get a pair of loose jeans on and a tight fitting black shirt. I walked down the stairs and out the door. Dominique grinned innocently at me and I knew something was up. I was happy to see though that she was wearing my present.

"What do you have planned"? She grinned even wider.

"Follow me and you will see~". She said in a sing-a-song voice as she turned around and began walking down the street. I easily caught up to her what with my long legs. I simply followed her till she led me to a park near her house. She then turned around to look at me. She said, "Today we start your training". I nodded seriously.

"Good. I'm ready". I wen't to grab my substitute badge in my back pocket when she shook her finger at me.

"Nope. Today's lesson deals with fighting while in your human body. The easier it is to fight in your human body, the easier it is to fight in your spirit form. Now, prepare yourself". She slipped gracefully into a crouch, barred her teeth; grinning, and charged at me with surprising speed for being in a pair of flipflops. I dodged her first punch but then she did a round house kick and caught me in the side. I was sent crashing into the ground. She straitened back up and put her hands on her hips in annoyance.

"Come on Ichigo. Get serious. Attack me". She pouted. She crouched back into a fighting stance and came at me again. I dodged her first and second strikes, then I blocked her third. Her attacks were so swift that I couldn't think my way through them. My arm automaticaly lunged out and connected with her shoulder. She fell backwards, but her hands flew out and she fell right into a backflip. As she stood back up she smirked.

"How was that"? I asked with a smirk on my own face. She laughed.

"Not bad, but you can do better. I know that you're not this weak". That pulled a nerve and she grinned like she knew it. I charged forward this time and was using all of my karate skills that I had learned while training with Tatsuki, and all the things I learned while getting into fights when I was in middle and high school. She easily dodged the blows or blocked them. A tick mark appeared on my head and I threw my leg out and kicked her hard in the side. She was sent flying away from me and landed on the ground on her back. She coughed just before she hauled herself back up onto her feet.

"Ouch. Nice. That's what I'm talking about. Use your instincts. Now, again". She came at me again and again. We sparred untill the sun was beginning to set. By the time we were done we were both pretty bruised up and panting. I knew though that the only reason she was beat up was because she let me hit her.

"That was definitly a different style of training". I panted. She grinned.

"Hey, don't blame me. I had to do that once too. Once we get into the routien of training this will be nothing but a five minute warm up. We'll cover the basics and then go strait to the advanced stuff". I nodded as we began walking back towards her house. Once we got there she healed us both and then Emma made dinner. Emma and Shuan dragged me and Dominique to the room that they had teched out for videogames. We had a battle royal of different videogames and all too soon though, I had to get home. Well actually Dominique made me leave.

"We have human school tomorrow, both you and I need to keep our grades up since skipping class will be a regular thing for us because of the hollows". She had a point there, not to mention I was tired as hell from Dominique's training. She said that it had been nothing compared to Rose's training. It scared me to think of the hyper captain who I had met, was even more extreme than Dominique was. Anywho I crashed for the night, the moment I landed on my bed I was pulled into a dreamless sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Urahara's POV

Tomorrow Nami, Dominique, Ichigo and the rest of their friends would have to return to school. I had gotten a new hat and fan. I remembered that day that my hat had gone missing.

Flashback:

I woke up on my futon to go to the bathroom. Dominique and the rest of them should be on the plane to America by now. I went to scratch my head and found that my hat wasn't there. I looked around and found a note on the floor by my door. It was a note from the mod soul Yuki that I'd made for Nami.

'Dear Urahara, Dominique ordered me to take your hat. She wanted it for Nami. Sorry and hahahaha! Signed Yuki'. **:**D

I sighed and went to look for another one of my hats. What most people don't know, is I have many copies of the same hat for the occasion of it being destroyed or stolen. When I went to get them out the drawer I saw that each and everyone of them were shredded by claws, along with another note.

'You'll find that your fans are in the same condition. I did this of my own accord. Dominique doesn't even know. Hehe. Signed Yuki. XD' I twitched.

"Tessai! A shopping trip is in order"! I would get back at Dominique and Yuki for this.

End Flashback:

I gotten my hat back from Nami, well not really. She had been wearing it when she returned to the shop. It was in good condition, and she liked it so much, I let her have it. She had squealed and gave me a crushing hug. I blushed and put my fan up to hide it. She walked back in and started talking to Ururu about America. I still didn't have an idea to get back at Dominique for what she did.

"Sigh...what a pain".

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

I got dressed early that morning. I made some alterations to the uniform though. I refused to wear that stupid little red bow and I had the top two buttons undone so that I could at least breath a little. If I was going to keep going to this school then I would at least be comfortable in the damn uniform. I grabbed Tsumi and stuck the pill in my skirt pocket. I grabbed my bag and waited downstairs at the door for Emma and Shuan to get up and get ready.

"Hey, we got school today you know. Come on you two"! I called out, irritated.

"Yah, yah, we're comming. Sheesh". Came Emma's reply. She was dressed like me, she had done the same thing to her outfit.

"Uncomfortable"? I grinned. She sighed.

"Duh. I swear, whoever came up with the school uniform idea was a complete ass". Shuan walked up beside her.

"Yeah but that outfit does have some perks". He grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows. I pointed to both of them.

"Hey, none of that. I don't let yall see my private life and I sure as hell don't wanna see yours". I rolled my eyes when they kissed in front of me, just to piss me off. I said scathingly, "Fine then. I'm walking alone then. See ya". I walked out the door with a wave behind me, without another look at the infatuated couple. If I wanted kissing I would go to my own boyfriend.

It made me smile to myself in happiness that I could actually do that now. Yay!

I walked down the street and went to Ichigo's house. I could hear a loud commotion going on and Karin came out to greet me.

"Hey Dominique". I motioned to the noises in the house. I giggled.

"Fighting"? I asked. She sighed.

"What else"? I laughed out loud this time. I waited for Ichigo and then we walked to school. He had his substitute badge looped onto his pants and some little charm thing that was sewn onto his uniform. It had the word protect on it in kanji. When we got into the hallway at school in front of our classroom Mizurio greeted us.

"Hey Ichigo, Dominique".

"Hey, how's it going"? Ichigo said.

"Hey, Mizurio". I said as well. I then heard a set of fast footsteps.

"IIIIIII-chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-goooooooooooooooooooooo"! Keigo was running down the hallway at a surprising speed.

SMACK!

Keigo got hit by Ichigo's extended arm. I had my hands behind my back looking at him curiously as he crumbled to the floor.

"I don't know why he keeps trying that trick. It'll never work". I giggled as I followed Ichigo to class. When we got there; Chad, Uryu, and Orihime were gathered.

"Good morning Ichigo, Dominique"! Orihime called out happily. Uryu had a smug look to his face still.

"You know there's a thing called a comb. You should try one Ichigo". Ichigo had a tic mark on his forehead.

"Oh yeah? Shut up". That's when I heard Keigo screaming for the second time this morning.

"Huh! Why is Orihime with Chad and Uryu? It's like the beauty, the beast and the nerd all together! And why are you two hanging out with them. It's like there's some secret club and I'm not alowed to join it. What could have happended over summer break to form such an unatural alliance"? He was balling like a child. I murmered under my breath.

"What an idiot". Then Ichigo spoke up.

"Relax. Nothing happened". That was when he froze.

"Wait! I got it! I'm just an aging puppy that no one wants to pet. I'm finished"! He cried.

"Sounds about right pup, so how bout you go stand somewhere else". Ichigo said. Keigo looked like he was about to go emo right then and there when Mizurio showed up beside him.

"Chill out Keigo. Can't you see you're being teased"? Keigo started running away.

"Oh stupid blue skys, I knew you were teasing me"! We all just stared and sighed. That was when Chizuru came up behind Orihime and grabbed her breast while hugging her.

"Good morning! It's nice to see you"! She squealed like a rabid fangirl.

_'I swear that girl freaks me out'._ I mentaly thought just before Chizuru got kicked in the face and was sent flying. Tatsuki was the one who dilevered the kick. I snickered.

"As always an impressive reaction. Glad to know nothing's changed around here". Chizuru said while holding her bleeding nose. Tatsuki just sighed.

"I just wanted to keep you abreast of the situation". Then she continued with another sigh, "Nothing ever changes does it. Spring or fall; no matter what time of the year it is you're still in heat". Chizuru smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"Don't forget summer and winter too"! Tatsuki gave a 'I don't give a shit' face.

"Wipe your nose". I was standing there thinking of how Nami would be in Emma's and Shuan's class and not in ours. It was a bummer. I hope she got used to human school fast, cause she would need to.

That was when Miss Ochi came into the room. She looked at me and smiled. I saw Tatsuki talking to Ichigo out of the corner of my eyes.

"Glad to see that you decided to stay with us Miss Kudo. Now everyone take your seats". Everyone sat down. She then started taking roll, "Oshimon and Surimachi are never here cause they're juvinile delinquents so we won't worry about them will we class"? I could feel everyone sweat dropping. I remembered those two as the ones who were up on the roof that day I met Chad. I kicked one of them in the balls I think.

_'Yep. That was funny as hell too'._ Shiva commented. Then Miss Ochi got a big smile on her face.

"Good news everyone. Today we have a new transfer student joining us today". She then started talking to the class. I noticed that Ichigo was looking at his substitute badge. I remembered seeing Tatsuki talking to him before Miss Ochi called the class to sit. Since I was sitting directly behind Ichigo, I couldn't tell what his face was at the moment.

_'Oh duh. Tatsuki has higher than normal human reiatsu too. She could probably see the damn badge. That means she can see soul reapers and shadow shinigami too"._ That would make things difficult. I bit down on my thumb nail; trying to figure out a way to explain things to her. Hell she's probably already seen me, Ichigo and all the others.

_'She already has. Orihime regained her memory that Sora attacked them that night she awakened her powers. Maybe Tatsuki did too'._ She had a point there.

**"HOLLOW! HOLLOW! HOLLOW"!** The badge went off, making Ichigo scream in shock.

"Hey Ichigo, is everything alright"? Mizurio asked. Ichigo turned to him, stuttering.

"Oh it's nothing really. Just a little gas". I mentally facepalmed myself as I sweat dropped.

_'Okay, that was lame as hell'._ I swallowed Tsumi and I jumped out my body and out the open window while everyone was looking toward Miss Ochi as she opened the classroom door, looking for the new transfer student. Soon though Ichigo was running with me. Then I even saw Orihime and Chad running after us.

_'Why the heck are they along for the ride'?_ Shiva asked. I mentally shrugged. When we got to the hollow it was yelling something about beef or pork.

_'I swear. Hollows are weird'._ Shiva yelled out in protest.

_'Hey'!_ I sighed.

_'Not inner hollows you dummie'._ She grumbled something incoherent. Ichigo easily took out the low level hollow. Orihime stood back with Chad and I sat on a neighboring wall that lined the alley. Orihime was worried as to why Uryu wasn't here. Since he lost his powers, he would no longer fight hollows. I sort of felt sorry for him. As we started making our way back to school I felt a wierd pressence in the air.

_'Wonder what that is. It feels familiar'._ I agreed with her.

_'I've felt this presensce before. I can't remember when and where though'._ I thought. I looked around in search for the strange energy. I quickly gave up and followed the others back to class.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I was sitting behind Ichigo when Miss Ochi found the new student outside the classroom. I felt that energy again. As the student entered the room I saw strangly cut blonde hair with a very toothy smile. Realization dawned on me and I mentally facepalmed myself.

_'Holy crap that's Shinji'!_ No wonder I'd been feeling a strange presensce. It had been a long while since I'd been around any vizards. They tended to have a different feel about them than shadow shinigami. He was in a school uniform and he wrote his name backwards on the board.

_'Same old Shinji'._ I agreed. Shinji was making a fool of himself up there at the board. He got assigned to the seat beside Ichigo.

"I hope we can be friends, Ichigo". I glared at the ex-soul reaper captain. He of course didn't notice me since I was out of his eyesight. As the day went by, it got more and more boring, I kept my reiatsu from alerting Shinji, so I could scare the crap out of him later. After school I walked home with Ichigo and the rest of my friends. I noticed that Shinji was staring at us as we walked. I pretended not to notice though.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Tsumi's POV

Dominique put me back in my mountain lion plushi when we got back home. She sat down in her beanbag chair and started working on her homework, while I played games on her DS. I had gotten bored soon enough. The sun had set and night had fallen. I started thinking about bugging Kon. Dominique's head flashed up and she looked out the window.

"A hollow"? I asked. Dominique nodded and then everything went black as I was ejected from the stuffed body. When I could see I was in Dominique's body and she was jumping out the window. I had an evil grin on my face and decided to go find Kon. I had some form of spiritual awareness so I could track reiatsu. Kon's was too easy to find. He was on the move and in Ichigo's body. I shunpoed out the window to look for him.

When I found him he was running down the road singing something.

"I won't get Ichigo's body arrested, but I do plan to wear it out~". I shunpoed in front of him.

"Doing what, may I ask"? I smiled at him. He hadn't seen me at first, he ran right into me and fell flat on his ass. I then said, "Kon what are you doing"? He looked at me, most likely thinking something on the lines of_ 'Oh shit'. _He scooted back from me.

"Dominique"! I laughed.

"Nope, just Tsumi". He sighed in releif then he broke out into a cold sweat. He must remember when I had given him that beatdown when he didn't listen at the beach. That was when I felt a ripple go through the air. Then a blast of light came crashing towards us. I grabbed Kon and shunpoed off to the side as the light made a deep crater in the street.

"What the hell"? Kon said in surprise. I looked at the hollow that was facing us. Kon started stuttering.

"I hope you haven't forgotten me, Ichigo Kurosaki". The hollow said with a grumbling voice.

"No...it can't be. It's, it's...GRAND FISHER"! Kon yelled before running away. I caught up with him.

"Who the hell is Grand Fisher"? He jumped and started making his way up the side of a building. I followed suit. I then yelled at him, "Tell me you idiot! Who was that"?

"It's a hollow that attacked Ichigo when he was nine. The hollow that killed his mom. Ichigo had only just defeated it before, when he first got his powers. He wasn't able to kill him though". He rushed out. I growled.

"And now the ass thinks that you're Ichigo. Don't worry though. I was created for battle". I grabbed Kon around his waist and shunpoed towards a park. The damn hollow was catching up though by flying though the air. Simply a slower version of sonido. I also noticed that his masked opened slightly and that I could see part of his face.

_'An arrancar. Damn. Just my luck'._ I shunpoed into the air thinking that I could outmanuver him in the sky. I then tossed Kon onto a nearby building and rushed at the hollow. I landed a heavy kick to its arm as he extended it out towards me. He then went to grab his sword.

_'A zanpakuto? Crap'!_ I'd forgotten that he'd probably had one on him. I then grabbed Kon and started running again. I could only fight hand to hand so most hollows were easy to kick around. I wouldn't be able to fight against a zanpakuto though. I was flying through the air when a huge hand grabbed both Kon and I.

"I'm tired of waiting for you two to change into your soul reaper forms. If you won't change then I'll grind your puny human bones into dust"! Grand Fisher slammed us both into the ground. After he moved his hand, I tried to move, but being in a human body, it was less capable to dealing with a heavy blow like that than if I had been in a plushi body.

_'Fuck'._ I huffed as I tried to move my legs, but to no avail. I couldn't tell if they were broken or not.

"I can't move". Kon said beside me. Grand Fisher was about to slam his palm on top of us when a sword blocked his hand. It was Dominique.

"I go off for ten minutes, kick one hollow's ass, and come to find out that Tsumi and Kon are being chased by freaking Grand Fisher". She glared at me and I smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry". She then turned to the hollow.

"I gotta bone to pick with you. You're gonna pay for what you've done you bastard. So it was so nice of you to show up here again in Karakura instead of making me go to Hueco Mundo to find your ass". Dominique's face had turned from one of hate to an evil grin. I soon managed to recover and helped Kon up.

Dominique lowered her blade and looked at Grand Fisher. She was waiting for him to make the first move. Grand Fisher laughed and sent a palm strike right at Dominique. She grinned and went to slash his arm off when something shot in front of her and a bright light filled the area.

"What the hell"? I said.

"Hey! Who threw that"? Dominique yelled out. She turned around, so did Kon and I. We all stared in shock as Ichigo's dad walked up to us, in a soul reaper uniform. I heard Dominique murmur under her breath.

"His powers must have returned". Grand Fisher looked at him in confusion.

"Who are you"? Isshin chuckled.

"Oh right. I always forget to do that. My name is Isshin Kurosaki".

Me: DUN DUN DUH! Cliffy hehe. Yay, another chapter done! I happy.

...

Me: Oh yeah! The winner of the match was-.

Rose: ME~!

Sero: (Sulking in corner muttering about life and how unfair it is)

Me: Pay up!

Shiva: Fine. (Gives me fifty bucks)

Me: Sweet.

Ichigo: Everyone will get to see a real battle with Rose, and or Sero in a later chapter, it will be with Kenpachi cause she want to kick his ass. (Evil grin)

Hichigo: Just be patient untill then please and Rose do not send Sakami after me again?

Me: (Whispers) Do it anyway.

Shiva: Yah cuase it's fun.

Luna: (Appears out of nowhere) YO!

Me: HEY!

Luna: When will I make my official appearance?

Me: In the next chapter! So until then, read, write, and review peoplz! Oh and have a totally awesome summer! XD

Imaginary by Evanescence

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	18. Arrancar Assult

Me: Next chapter yay! Oh and I own nothing but my total insanity. But as the saying goes, "I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every last minute of it". XD

Luna: I get to come in! Finally!

Nami Kagamiran : Me too! Not to get anyone confused or anything, my last name shall be up too so us two Nami's wont get confusing to yall readers out there!

Nami Kurosaki: Yep. Oh and Jade owns nothing but the characters she made up. That does not include Rose, Sero, Squad 0, Luna, Nami Kagamiran, etc. Pretty much Shirozangetsu, Dominique, and Shiva are her own made up characters. Everyone else are the characters of her real life friends from her home town and all over the world.

Me: That's right. Now a shout out to all the I Am Me fans who supported that crew in ABDC. (America's Best Dance Crew) It was a close battle between them and Iconic Boys but they were the victors. I give a fanfiction congratulations to both I Am Me and Iconic Boys. To those who know about ABDC I would like to hear which crew was your favorite from any of the six seasons. If you don't have a favorite then that's fine too. Now that I'm done with my rambling, lets get on with the main event. ACTION! XD

**Chapter 18: Arrancar Assult**

Dominique's POV

"Kurosaki huh? How are the two of you related"? Grand Fisher asked Isshin.

"I'm his father". Isshin bent down and picked up the thing that had blocked Grand Fisher's attack. It was that charm that Ichigo had worn to school. I also just now noticed the white captain's hiori coat that was attached onto his left shoulder with a metal band. "Here Kon, take this". He tossed the charm to a very surprised Kon.

"When did you find out that I wasn't Ichigo"? Isshin grinned.

"I've known it all along. Ever since the day at Masaki's grave. I'm not as dumb as I look you know". I then grinned.

"So then I guess that you know about me as well". He looked at me as I grinned sheepishly.

"Yep". I grinned wider. That was when I heard a loud bang. I turned to look at Grand Fisher, he had his fist on the ground as if he punched it, then again, knowing his intillegence he most likely did.

"I see now. So if you are his father then that means Ichigo is of true blood. And that explains why that orange haired bastard defeated me". That ticked me off. He then continued, "So since you are his father, then you should know where he is. Bring me your son"!

"Tch". I scoffed.

"Well I don't know where he is". Isshin looked at him with a dimwitted face. I sweat dropped. I could sense him on the other side of town easily...maybe that was just me. Isshin's face looked like the overworked father figure. "I always respect my childrens privacy and give them as much space as needed". That's when Kon jumped up.

"Are you kidding me? You cling to your daughters like a mother hen". Isshin started sweating and tried standing up for himself.

"Yuzu and Karin are special. That's a totally didfferent situation". I sweat dropped again. His face got serious again. "Anyhow, where Ichigo is, isn't important. Because I'm here to kill you". I understood now. He was about to get revenge for Grand Fisher killing Masaki. I decided not to interfere with this.

Grand Fisher started laughing like a psyco person,...or hollow,...or whatever. We all looked at him.

"You came here to kill me? Those are mighty big words for a puny little soul reaper. Behold my true power". Grand Fisher's top part of his mask shattered and fell off, not to mention he grew to the size of a menos. Kon was freaking out behind me.

"He has to be at least as big or bigger than that menos I saw before". Grand Fisher looked down at Kon.

"Menos. How can you compare me with one of those weaklings? No, I am-". Isshin interrupted.

"An arrancar". That shut Grand Fisher up. "You're a group of hollows trying to gain soul reaper powers by removing your mask".

"You're right, you're not as dumb as you look. Then you must know that you can never beat my sword". Both Tsumi and I sniffed distainfully at his overconfidence.

"Well then, shall we see"? Isshin asked challengingly.

"You know that you cannot beat me yet, you still persist. I thought soul reapers were supposed to know thier own lore, but I guess I was wrong. Perhaps in death, you will gain the enlightenment you lacked in this life". I swear this hollow was an idiot. He would die in one shot for his arrogance. They both drew their swords and then Grand Fisher fell to the ground with blood coming from the all the way through gash on his chest. I looked at him with pity.

"Impossible". He dissapeared into nothingness as he was sent on into his next life.

"Fool". I said with a smirk.

"Was that revenge"? I heard Urahara's voice from behind us. Isshin turned to look at him.

"Urahara". I turned away, I let them talk for the moment, and started healing both mine and Ichigo's body. They had gotten a few injuries when they had been crushed to the ground by Grand Fisher. I also noticed that Nami was nowhere in sight. I guessed that it was so that Isshin wouldn't find out about her yet. I looked to Urahara, but he didn't look at me. I then noticed what they were talking about. They were discussing that the vizards had contacted Ichigo.

"You all don't have to worry about Shinji and them. I know them. I'll tell them to back off and if they don't they'll get an ass kicking. Anywho, Rose asked me to kick Shinji's ass for her anyway". Urahara laughed lightly, while Isshin looked at me with an unrecongnizable look in his eyes. I then continued, "Anywho, it's the arrancars we should be worrying about. This one was powerful, but only just above a regular menos grande".

"These arrancars have been stuck at the same level for decades. There is only one way that they could have gained this sort of power". I didn't need to tell him that there were some arrancars in squad 0 and that they could kick that one's ass anyday of the week. Urahara spoke up.

"Sosuke Aizen". I let out an involuntary hiss under my breath.

"He's using the hogyoku to give the would be arrancars the power they've been searching for. This arrancar was imperfect so it must be a prototype. He will be finished soon though. With a front line of complete arrancars and an army of menos grande, they will rule the world". Isshin said solemly.

"That is why squad 0 will stop him". I said defiantly.

"Not just squad 0. Everyone will be mobilizing for war; the vizards, us, even the Soul Society. Urahara said solemly. I looked up.

"Someone's heading this way. It's Ichigo". Urahara then walked over to Kon and Tsumi.

"Everything you've seen here tonight must remain a secret". I looked at Tsumi.

"Sure". She said with a salute.

"Oh and Tsumi, take Kon home and Kon, you tell Ichigo that you stayed home cause if you don't I'll kick you into next week". They both nodded. Then Tsumi grabbed Kon by his arm and shunpoed off. When I looked back Urahara and Isshin had left as well. I sighed and shunpoed back to the house before Ichigo got there.

**Meanwhile, in the Soul Society... 3rd person POV**

All the captains gathered in the hall. There was a difference though, instead of 10 captains there were 12 of them. There were two new captains in the positions of squads 3 and 9. The two newest captains took thier places among the older warriors.

"Now we will comense the captain's meeting". Said Head Captain Yamamoto.

"We need an advanced team to go to the World of the Living. Lutenient of squad 6, Renji Abarai will be the head of the advanced team. I want Hitsuguya, Meikyuu, and Kagamiran to go with lutenient Abarai to go to the World of the Living and assist the substitute soul reapers". The three captains mentioned nodded thier heads. The one with the short blue hair who stood beside Old Man Yama and Captain Kamamura was Luna Meikyuu. Her zanpakuto was hoisted on her back similarly to Captain Hitsuguya's Hyorinmaru.

The one to the other side of Kamamura and Kenpachi was Nami Kagamiran with her long purple hair and zanpakuto at her left hip. Both these new captains were close friends and had hid the fact that they knew bankai until thier captain's betrayls. They were even some of the lucky few who knew about Ikkaku Maderame's bankai, not that they'd squeal on him about it. The head captain continued to speak.

"The rest of you will maintain your squads and to prepare for battle in the near future. With the traitors Aizen, Tosen, and Ichimaru gone we were short three captains, but now with the two newest additions of Captains Meikyuu and Kagamiran we are back up to almost full strength. We will need to prepare for an attack from Aizen for he will beleive that we are weakened. We must show that we are not". He tapped his cane on the floor in finality. Kenpachi grinned hugely at the thought of great battles ahead of him.

Kurosutchi wasn't really paying attenion, but thinking of the experiments he would be working on this afternoon. The rest of the captains were listening with quiet attentiveness.

Luna and Nami were excited to the point where they were almost bouncing in place. This would be thier first mission to the World of the Living as captains. Head Captain Yamamoto looked around at the capains for a moment before continuing.

"Now, on that note, this captain's meeting is dissmissed". All the captains left the room to prepare for thier given orders.

**World of the Living...**

Dominique's POV

I walked into class the next morning and saw that Ichigo was at his desk. He had a serious look on his face.

_'Shinji'._ I was going to go talk to Ichigo when Orihime walked in the room.

"Hello Ichigo. Good morning"! She was smiling, and waving, then Shinji popped into the room.

"Hi Ichigo! Good Morning"! I sweatdropped. Ichigo looked at him with a confused look on his face.

"Umm, Shinji right"? Orihime asked Shinji. His face lit up at that.

"You remembered my name? Thank you Orihime"! He hugged her, then Keigo started telling him to back off, then even Chizuru got into it as well. Ichigo stood up and walked towards Shinji.

"Come with me Hirako". He dragged Shinji out the door by his collar. Everyone in his wake was staring, awestruck. I quickly followed them. Ichigo pinned Shinji up against the railing of the walkway.

"Hey that hurt! Why are you getting so worked up about? It's not like Orihime's your girlfriend and lets face it, you're socialy inept. A hottie like that would never give you the time of day". Ichigo jerked him into the railing again.

"Shut up and anyway, I have a girlfriend. But you are going to appologize to her later, you should know better". Shinji looked like he didn't care.

"That's really a matter of opinion and anyway you're in no position to be ordering me around. By the way, who is the idiot who is going out with you"? He stuck his tongue out at Ichigo. That was when I stepped forward.

"First of all I'm his girlfriend, second, I'm not an idiot and third of all, Shinji I **am** in a position to tell you what to do". He looked at me in confusion.

"Who the hell are you". He asked rudely. I facepalmed myself.

"It figures, you don't remember one of your own trainees. Dominique Kudo, you taught me about the vizards when I was 12". Realization struck him and his face went pale, while a smirk grew on my own face.

"That Dominique..."? I grinned even wider, baring my teeth at him.

"Damn strait. I see you haven't heard of my assent to being section 13's new leader". I looked at my nails, looking like it was nothing. He winced a little. Hiyori and I used to give him hell. I got my habbit of slapping people with flip-flops from Hiyori in fact. He used to say that I would never go higher up than a novince level shadow shinigami. I sure as hell proved him wrong.

"Really"? I sighed and walked to Ichigo. He let go of Shinji, who stood up strait to look at the both of us.

"Yep. And Ichigo is off limits to the vizards. Rose gave me direct orders to train him myself, so he is not going to be a vizard. He was a born shadow shinigami, not to mention he and his hollow get along as well as Shiva and I do". He looked confused.

"What about Shirozangetsu"? I looked down, a bit sadly. He didn't know about what happened in the Soul Society.

"Doesn't Ichigo look familiar"? He looked at Ichigo then he facepalmed himself. I then said, "Shirozangetsu is no longer here. He was half of Ichigo's inner hollow, Hichigo. They were fused back together when we were in the Soul Society". His eyes softened in kindness. I then spoke up again, "I wan't yall to stay here in Karakura, but leave Ichigo alone. I'm training him here, but I might need to ask for your help later. Oh, and Rose asked me to kick your ass so when we do ask for yall's help, I want a match". He nodded nervously. He then got up and left.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Welcome home Ichigo"! His dad yelled. He elbowed Ichigo in his face and Ichigo landed on top of me. The breath was knocked out of me.

"Uhhhhg". I moaned as I tried to get the air back into my lungs.

"Woah. Uh-oh. Sorry Dominique. What's the matter Ichigo? You sick? Are you're grades failing"? Then his face got serious,"Well don't worry son. I'm not the type of father that worries about some dumb old test. So what if you're failing! Modern education's all a pile of crap anyway"! He yelled.

"This isn't a good example of parenting". Karin said.

"A boy his age should be focusing on things he can't talk to his parents about. Like romance"! I blushed at that as I sat up and started helping Ichigo up.

"Romance? He shouldn't talk to you about that". Yuzu said. Isshin grinned and was blushing himself.

"Nope, not if he's doing it right and believe me I know". I sweat dropped, my face heating up even more, and Karin had a pissed look on her face.

"I believe you're a sick man". Ichigo got up and started making his way to the stairs.

"We'll be up in my room until dinner". We walked up the stairs and when we got to his room Kon jumped from the dresser and started talking nonsence but when I heard something about Isshin, Tsumi jumped from my bag and pinned Kon to the ground. Ichigo sat down at his desk while I sat on his bed. I nodded to Tsumi and she dragged Kon out the window. I then looked at Ichigo.

"What's bothering you Ichigo"? He looked at me then he looked down.

"Why did the vizards contact me"? He asked me. I nodded.

"They always make contact with new shadow shinigami. Sometimes it's necesarry. You see, not all shadow shinigami get along with their hollows like we do. Sometimes they reject the change that thier lives have taken and then the inner hollows try to take over. Sometimes even if they are perfectly happy with the change their hollows still try to take over. Those that do, can't become normal shadow shinigami. They become vizards, or they die". He looked surprised.

"So the vizards help those people by making them into vizards too"? I nodded.

"Yes. They find shadow shinigami and test whether or not they get along with their hollows and if they do and the hollows are cool with them then they lead the young members to the normal squad 0 shadow academy. If they aren't then they take the young vizard to be under thier wings and teach them the other options. Let me tell you though, it's not nice. Either the kid dies at the hands of the hollow or they surpress the hollow completely and therefore restrict their powers".

Even normal shadow shinigami have to train with the vizards at some point though. If we didn't then we wouldn't know what the symptoms were of a young shadow shinigami fighting against his or her hollow. When we see one, we are to contact the vizards immediatly. I have only had to do it once, and that was during my training with the vizards themselves.

"I'm glad I'm not like that. Yet another reason that I'm gratefull I met you". Ichigo said as he looked down at the floor. That was when I heard a knock on the door. The door opened and we saw Karin come in.

"Hey Karin". She nodded to me, but she looked at Ichigo with a serious look on her face.

"Ichigo, tell me the truth, what's been bothering you"?

"Whaddya mean? Nothins wrong". He put a fake smile on. She shook her head.

"Don't lie to me. I know you're a soul reaper". She said out of the blue. Okay, I actually wasn't surprised. She had Ichigo's same level of reiatsu that he had just before he became a substitute soul reaper, so it was obvious that she could see us when we left our bodies. Not to mention that Ichigo's just not all that careful to who is watching around him. Ichigo's eyes had gone wide, but he then smiled.

"A soul reaper? Are you nuts? What in the world are you talking about? I shook my head.

"Don't bother lying Ichigo. She can see. She's been able to since you first became a soul reaper. She know's that we both are soul reapers". Karin looked at me, her eyes reading a big thank you.

"I didn't understand what I was seeing at first but then Don Kanonji-". A huge wave of reiatsu filled the area, very effectively cutting her off.

_'Holy hell. The arrancars are here now'?_ Shiva thought as their energy registered.

"Shit". What bad timing, I swear. I spoke out loud as I turned to the west. Ichigo turned to the window immediatly, and grabbed for his substitue badge. Karin grabbed his shirt.

"Where are you going Ichigo"? He looked at her with an appology in his eyes.

"Sorry Karin". He used the badge and flew out the window. I ran to the bed and prepared to follow him, but I turned back to Karin first, she deserved an explination.

"I really am sorry. I swear, I will explain later. Can you make up an excuse for us please"? She nodded seriously. I jumped from my body and flew into the sky after Ichigo.

The source of the reiatsu was at the other side of town in one of the parks. Orihime and Chad were over in that direction. I flew at high speed to get caught up with Ichigo. I felt that Emma and Shuan were at Urahara's shop with Nami. I put that out of my mind and flew toward the other side of town with Ichigo at my side.

When we got there we saw that Orihime was just about to be attacked by a huge dark skined arrancar. I immediatly saw that there was another one further back and then I dived down with Ichigo. Just as the arrancar was about to hit Orihime with his palm, both Ichigo and I had our Zangetsus pointed at his palm. That was when I noticed Chad on the ground, mangled, and Tatsuki, just barely alive further back in my perhipheral vision. Other than that there were no other living souls around us that I could sence.

_'One of them must have used a Gonzui'._ I agreed with her.

"Sorry we didn't get here sooner Orihime". Ichigo said.

"I'm sorry Ichigo. If only I were stronger". Despaire was wrapped around each word. I turned to look at her while still holding my blade at the arrancar.

"Don't be so hard on yourself Orihime. You are strong. You have a different sort of strength though". I smiled at her then I turned back around to where the arrancar was looking at us with a confused look. He had also backed up some.

_'Smart, but it wont save him'._ I thought smugly.

"These guys are dead meat". Ichigo said. That was when we both called out bankai. The energy cause an explosion and when the dust cleared Ichigo and I stood there with our blades at the ready.

"Tensa Zangetsu". We both said.

"Orihime, please stand back and Dominique watch out for her. I'll handle this". I pouted slightly, but Orihime walked to where Chad was and focused on healing him. I went to stand behind Chad in case the other arrancar came after Orihime or Chad. Ichigo needed to gain the experience in battle anyway. I just hoped that Hichigo wouldn't try to fight because if Ichigo wasn't weakened, like he was in the battle with Byakuya, it would be bad for both of them.

"Fine, but remember, don't act stupid". I called out. The meaning was held for both of them. I looked at the confused arrancar and the smaller one further back.

"A black bankai huh, and there are two of them". The big one said stupidly. The smaller one in the back then spoke.

"It seems your flailing about has lured them out. Two identical black bankais, one with orange hair and the other with long brown hair. There can be no doubt, these are our targets Yammy". The one called Yammy looked like he just got a present.

"You two saved us the trouble of finding you. Que suerte"! The first thought that came to my mind was, why in the hell he just speak spanish? And yes, I took spanish while I was in my American high school. Yammy sent his fist flying at Ichigo, but Ichigo blocked it easily with his Tensa Zangetsu, not even holding it in both hands. I whistled, throuroghly impressed. Ichigo looked at Yammy with murder in his eyes. Ichigo was definitly pissed.

"Were you the one who did that to Chad's arm? Then I'll start with your arm". He shunpoed into the air and the next thing I saw was his foot on Yammy's head and then Yammy's arm falling off.

_'Wow. Nice. Ichigo really didn't waste anytime with that one'._ I was also impressed. If he fought like that, fast and hard, he would easily win. Ichigo then continued to attack Yammy. His anger had made it so his reiatsu hardened, and was able to slice easily through Yammy's hierro. Ichigo didn't get one scratch on him and by the time Ichigo had pulled back some, Yammy was covered in deep slashes everywhere on his body.

"I'm surprised that you're still standing. I guess you're as tough as you are ugly". Ichigo said with a smirk on his face.

"You damn flea"! Yammy yelled at Ichigo.

"Are you having trouble? Shall I take over for you"? The smaller arrancar said with a superior tone.

"Stay back"! Yammy yelled. That was when he grabbed the hilt of his zanpakuto with his remaining hand.

"What's this? Are you actually going to draw your zanpakuto for a little flea like that"?

"I said shut up and stay back"! I looked at Ichigo's face and saw that he was looking at Yammy with wide eyes. That was when I felt a pulse go through the air and through me. Just as Ichigo was about to attack again, his body froze and he held his free hand to his head. I felt his hollow energy mixing with his soul reaper energy. Hichigo had tried to join in the fight.

"Crap"! I went to run forward and take over the fight when Yammy kicked Ichigo hard in the stomach, sending him flying. I went to attack Yammy, but Orihime ran ahead of me towards Ichigo.

"Stay back Orihime". Ichigo yelled out just before he got punched into the ground. Yammy went to hit Orihime, but I shunpoed in front of her and took the direct hit to the head. I had managed to block the major hit from Orihime, but I was sent flying with Orihime right undernieth me. We both landed on the ground hard, I felt a sharp pull on my left arm, and black spots blotted my vision.

"Dominique! Orihime! NO"! I heard Ichigo yell just before I lost conciousness.

_'Fuck...'._

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I struggled to regain conciousness, but it wouldn't come to me at first. I knew that with that blow to that side of my head that I probably had a concussion and that I needed to wake up quickly.

When I came to, the first thing I saw was that Urahara was beside Ichigo who was badly beaten up. Yoruichi was there beside Orihime when Yammy stood back up and began charging a cero. I reacted instinctively. I charged a cero up in the palm of my right hand, shunpoed/sonidoed right in front of Orihime and Yoruichi, and blasted Yammy's cero with my own, causing it to blast off to the sides and explode without hitting anyone.

I then noticed that the vision of my left eye was blurry and that my left arm was hanging limp by my side. My vision in that eye was tainted red. Blood ran, hot and heavy down my face and onto the ground.

_'Blood from the wound on my head where Yammy hit my head. My arm must be dislocated too'. _I shrugged it off though as the smoke cleared. I had much more important things to think about.

"What the hell? How in the hell could you have-"? I cut him off.

"Simple. I overpowered your cero with my own". I grinned smuggly at him. He looked shock.

"No way". I grinned through the blood that was dripping down my face. I could taste it on my lips and inside my mouth. I must have gotten hit to the point where my own teeth cut into my lip. I couldn't really tell cause there didn't seem to be any pain.

"You don't believe me huh? Well then I guess I'll show you again". I charged up a pin point cero in my two fingertips of my right hand and set it off right at Yammy. That was when the smaller arrancar moved in front of Yammy and blocked it with only one hand, causing it to shoot harmlessly up into the air before exploding. The arrancar looked at me with neutral eyes and then backhanded the crap out of Yammy's stomach.

"Whatcha do that for Ulquiorra"? Yammy said while he was holding his stomach. Ulquiorra turned to look back at Yammy.

"You idiot. Those two are Kisuke Urahara, and Yoruichi Shihoin. You wouldn't last two minutes against them in your current level". He touched the air and opened a garganta. He then said, "We're leaving".

"Are you running away"? Yoruichi said. Ulquiorra looked back at her with a superior look in his eyes.

"Are you trying to goad me into a fight? You know very well what would happen if you try to fight us while protecting those pieces of trash. Even with the other one up, she can't do much damage, not to mention the other one is unable to fight at all. Our mission is complete. I'll tell Lord Aizen that the two soul reapers that he had his eye on are nothing but trash". Ulquiorra and Yammy walked into the garganta and dissapeared. I was left standing there feeling pissed off.

_'Even with a banged up head and a dislocated arm, I could still kick his ass. Hell, Shiva would could have just come out and killed them both'. _I dismissed that thought and then ran to Ichigo, who was struggling to stand up. I made sure to grab my sword too.

"Are you okay"? He didn't answer, he wouldn't even look at me. I then said, "Come on. Lets get to Urahara's place and get you and the rest of them healed up". I helped support him by wrapping his left arm around my shoulder. He did the rest.

That was when Emma and Shuan arrived. They had brought Nami along with them too. Nami looked at us in shock, but Emma hadn't seen us right away cause she was looking at Urahara.

"Sorry Urahara we couldn't wait any longer...holy crap"! Emma looked between the four of us and ran over to Chad and started picking him up. Shuan helped her while Yoruichi and Nami got Orihime, while Urahara led the way with Tatsuki in his arms. Ichigo and I walked back with them and then I started healing him first. Soon Orihime's wounds were merely minor scratches, but her arm was still broken. I didn't have the energy to heal broken bones. Ichigo was healed up nicely. Orihime's Sotenkishun was continuing to heal Chad even though she was knocked out herself.

OoOoOoOoOoOo.

Tatsuki was taken home by Shuan and then he got started on helping Emma heal me. I had run out of energy from healing Ichigo's and Orihime's wounds to where if I wanted to heal myself I would have to unlock my gentei reiin.

Ichigo grabbed a wooden block from Urahara and placed it in between my teeth. He then grabbed my arm, with a gentle but firm grip, and shoved it back into place. I nearly yelled out, but instead once the block was removed from my mouth a string of profanities rushed forward. Most dealing with torturous, slow, bodily harm to the ugly arrancar who could go die in a ditch.

Since everyone was out of critical condition, I didn't have to release my gentei reiin for the wounds that we had left, we could wait to heal those later. So Emma healed the place where my head got busted open and placed bandages around my forhead like Ichigo's. Tessai said that I did have a concussion, but Urahara and him healed my head completely so I didn't have to worry.

We all stayed at Urahara's shop and when everyone was healed up, mostly, well except for Chad and Orihime who were asleep in two of the back rooms. We all gathered in the main room and I started explaining the arrancars to Ichigo.

"In a sence they still are hollows, but they are similar to us shadow shinigami. They are hollows that break off their mask to gain more power by breaking the barriers between the two worlds. Pretty much, they are the opposite of vizards. These two were strong. Aizen has to be behind this". I didn't tell Ichigo about last night with his dad and Urahara. That would make life difficult for his dad.

We continued to talk for the rest of the afternoon. That is, untill we had an unexpected guest.

Claire's POV

I was finally back in Karakura town. It was late afternoon and the air was cool. I wasn't as spiritually aware as Emma or Dominique, but I could sence that the group was gathered in the direction of the Urahara shop. I had quit college and broke up with Brandon. Not to mention, come back here since America was so damn boring. I couldn't wait to see thier faces when we showed up.

"Come on, lets go". I led my new boyfriend towards the direction of the Urahara shop. As we were walking I remembered what had led me back to this place.

_Flashback_

I had gone to college for a few weeks with Brandon. Brandon had become, for some odd reason, extremely overprotective since we got back to America. It was mildly annoying at first, but soon it was just pissing me off. I had tried to talk to him about it, but he got in my face and soon our tempers rose and he shifted into his wolf form. I growled and shifted as well. We fought and I ended up as the victor.

"We're through". I said after I changed back and walked away. I left him with his tail in between his legs. I had to admit it, it felt good to do that.

I made my way to my car and drove to the dorm room to get my stuff. It was time for me to get out of this place. I left Brandon to find his own way back to the dorms.

_'He can just run back when he heals up, which should be in a half hour'._ I had left a good couple of wounds on him. Other than this fight, it had been so boring since I got back and I really missed Japan. I grabbed my stuff and went to the administative office. I dropped out of college. The lady at the desk looked at me in dissaproval, but I really didn't care.

_'They're just mad that I won't be able to play in the sports that I'd been in'._ The whole being a shapshifter thing really give's you a phisical edge over other people, so sports were fun to show off in. Emma always had JROTC, while I played sports. Shuan was even in track, but Dominique seemed to be the only one who didn't participate in the regular stuff. She was on the karate team that was started a few years before she joined. She had been thier team's best fighter. They were sure pissed when she left the first time.

Speaking of being pissed.

_'Mom's is so gonna kill me when they mail her the letter that I quit, but oh well'._ I really didn't care. I would go to college in Japan if I had to. I drove to where my house was and left my car in the garage. The night time darkness was nice. I snuck into my room through the window and packed my stuff that I'd left behind when I went to college. I found my squad 0 badge neclace and attached it to the belt loop of my jeans.

I grabbed my secret stash of money from the loose floor board, I'd saved that little bunch up since last year, and headed back out the window. I grabbed the branch of the tree by my window and launched myself gracefully onto the ground.

_'I swear, that never gets old'._ I thought happily to myself. I was walking around town one last time, when I saw a guy sitting against a tree in one of the parks.

"Hi". He said without even looking up. I jumped because I didn't know he'd noticed me. And anywho, what was a teenage boy doing out here in a park in the middle of the night? Then again, why am I out here in the middle of the night for that matter?

"Oh sorry. I didn't know that you knew I was here". I said nervously. He smelled familiar, but new at the same time. Musky and inviting.

"You smell like me". He opened one eye and looked up at me. I looked at him in surprise. He could smell me.

"Huh"? I was instinctively wary.

"You're a wolf right"? I understood then. He was a shapeshifter, like me. Since the most common change is a wolf, you could always tell where one was. But since there are so few of us, only about 1 in 10,000 people were shapeshifters, and almost everyone of them were wolves. I guess it's DNA or something. That so dosn't explain Jessy's case though. I guess she was just freaky or something.

_'Hehe, a freak among freaks...wow that sounded bad. Sorry Jess'._ I anwered him.

"Yep. So what's your name"? He grinned.

"Ronald Duane Zeiman the 3rd". I deadpanned. Man that was a long name.

"Full name huh"?

"Yep".

"Well mine's Claire Beasley". He stood up and I just now noticed how tall he was.

_'Swoon'._ He was way hotter than Brandon. He had light brown hair and peircing eyes.

"Well it's nice to meet you Claire". I smiled. And he was a gentleman to boot.

"Well it's nice to meet you too Ronald". He laughed out loud.

"Just call me Ronnie". I liked him already.

_End Flashback_

We were walking down the street to Urahara's Shop. We had started going together after we met that day. He doesn't know anything about soul reapers, shadow shinigami, or hollows. Well he'll learn about that, all in good time. Once he gets to know the gang he'll fit right in.

I led him down the sidewalk with our stuff at our old appartment. I checked it to find out that Dominique and them still lived there. Their scents were still fresh. That was when we headed to the Urahara Shop.

We made it to the shop doors and just opened them right up. There was no one in the front, so I led Ronnie to the back room. We heard them talking, in quiet, serious voices.

_'Ohh, this is gonna be fun'._ I waited an instant before I yanked open the doors.

Dominique's POV

We had still been discussing about the arrancars and shadow shinigami when I heard the door slide open. I thought it might have been a costomer or something for Urahara, but when I turned around, I saw Claire at the door.

"Hi guys"! She stood on one foot and was waving with a huge smile on her face. Everyone was silent and staring at her.

"Claire"? Emma asked.

"Yep". She answered in a cheery voice. I shook my head.

"What are you doing back here in Karakura"? I asked confused. She grinned.

"College in America was boring me to death and I broke up with Brandon. I got a new guy now. What happened to all yall"? We all sweatdropped at her bluntness.

"Fight with a bunch of arrancars". I said. She nodded seriously then the happy look came back on her face. She pulled in a dude with very short brunette hair that was tall and lanky.

"Sup". We all murmured hellos.

"This is Ronald Duane Zeiman the 3rd, my new boyfriend". I looked at him curiously.

"Hey Claire, is he..."? She grinned and nodded. I then turned to Emma, "Well it looks like you have a new member of the pack". Emma grinned.

"Claire, I wanna hear the story with Brandon, but later". She then turned to Ronald, "So do you know about us"? Emma asked.

"I just know that yall are Claire's friends and that Emma is a wolf too". So he didn't know about us, or even the fact that he wasn't a werewolf, but a shifter.

_'This is gonna be fun'._ I spoke up.

"So do you believe in ghost"? A simple question right? Hehe.

"Yeah, I guess". I grinned.

"Good. What do you think about death and all that". I said nonchalantly. Claire and Ronald sat down beside the door on two mats. He thought about it for a minute.

"I'm not really sure. I guess I'll find out once I get there". That surprised me.

_'The kid's open minded. Good'._ I thought. Shiva laughed. I then looked at Emma. She grinned and then Shuan, Emma, and I all jumped from our bodies instantaneously.

"HOLY CRAP"! Ronald yelled in surprise as he fell backwards in surprise and shock. That caused all of us to laugh. While we had been laughing, Nami had used Yuki and left her gigai herself, but Ichigo didn't. That sent warning bells off in my head, but I decided to deal with him later.

"Now what do you think of death"? I asked with a smile in my voice. He didn't answer at first. I think he was busy trying to restart his heart.

_'Epic win for us'._ Shiva said with a laugh.

"Are yall like grim reapers or something"? He looked at us with fear in his eyes. Claire laughed out loud.

"No dumbie. They're soul reapers, and no not what you are probably thinking right now. They are protectors of the World of the Living, that's here, they kick bad ghost ass and send good ghost to the Soul Society. Pretty much, you can call them supernatural police officers". I giggled.

"Pretty much to the T Claire. Except that most of us here are different though. Normal soul reapers normaly are already dead, but we are not. We were humans, born with these kickass powers". Emma spoke up.

"We're called shadow soul reapers, or shadow shinigami". Shuan nodded before he spoke.

"We're the medium between the three worlds, which are Earth of course, then there's the Soul Society and then there's Hueco Mundo". He said seriously. Claire then jumped in.

"There are three types of beings,so to speak. Each type of spirit has it's own name, there's us humans and then all the things that we branch to, shapeshifters, etc. Then there are wholes; regular spirits, beings of the Soul Society, and soul reapers. Lastly there are the bad spirits; all in one word,...hollows". Claire counted off her fingers. Ronald piped up.

"Woah that's a lot". He said in a daze. I grinned.

"Oh it gets better. In fact, we were just talking about this subject. There are beings that can be appart of more than one world". Emma said with a grin.

"There are the vizards; soul reapers who have gained hollow powers, arrancars; who are hollows who have gained soul reaper powers, an incredibly small group called soul eaters who are humans that acquired hollow powers through an accident, but it is extremely rare to find one, then we have us; shadow shinigami. We are the mix of all three beings; human, soul reaper, and hollow. Sweet huh"? I said. Ronald didn't answer. His eyes were comic swirls and I think he was about to pass out from the information overload.

"Claire, why don't you take Ronald to the house, where he can rest, and proscess the information we've given him". Emma suggested. She nodded and hoisted him up on her back. She walked out the door, but not before turning back to us to give us a devilish grin. She had planned this out, it was evident all over her face.

_'Nice'._ Both Shiva and I thought at the same time. Claire could be just as devious as the rest of us at times. Not to mention, I wanted to hear how she broke up with my cousin. I bet my next paycheck that she kicked his ass while they were in wolf form. That I would have loved to see.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Two days after that, Ichigo and I returned to school. Orihime came back a few days after that. Ichigo and I had bandages still on us, as well as Orihime, Chad couldn't come, but Tatsuki was back at school like nothing happened. Ichigo had a guilty look to his face and he seemed to avoid me. Then again, he seemed to avoid everyone. It looked like he was about to say something to Orihime, but then he turned away and said that it was nothing.

Claire was at the house with Ronnie and was taking online classes for college. I had gotten the call from her mother and was yelled at for about fifteen minutes before I finally told her that she was taking online classes before hanging up in her face.

I planned to talk to Ichigo this afternoon about what was bugging him. Though I already had a pretty good guess; he thought he was at fault for Orihime and I getting hurt. That was the most likely case at hand.

Now it was lunch time, Ichigo and I were eating our lunch in the classroom with several other students. That was when I felt several supressed reiatsus heading this way. I recognized most of them though.

That was when the door to the classroom opened to reveal Renji, Toshiro, Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yumichika. There were also two others who I didn't recognize; one with short blue hair and one with long purple hair. Ichigo and I looked at the door with shocked looks.

"Yo. What's up Ichigo"? Renji said nonchalantly.

"Renji, Toshiro? What are you all doing here"? That made a tic mark appear on Toshiro's face.

"That's Captain Hitsuguya to you". I giggled and noticed that the other two behind Toshiro were laughing under their breaths.

"Toshiro, who are those two"? I pointed to the two girls who were still laughing.

"It's Captain Hitsuguya to you as well and these two are the two newest captains. Luna Meikyuu, captain of squad 3 and Nami Kagamiran, captain of squad 9". I nodded. Then I grinned.

"Sup". They stepped forward past Toshiro.

"So you're Dominique Kudo of squad 0 right"? Luna asked.

"Yep". She grinned.

"Well we're here to assist the substitute soul reapers in the upcomming fights with the arrancars". Nami said with a grin. Ichigo looked surprised.

"You mean there's going to be more of those arrancars coming here"? Ichigo asked Toshiro.

"Of course you fool. It would be stupid to think that those were the only arrancar that Aizen has". The familiar voice sounded behind us. Both Ichigo and I turned towards the window to see Rukia standing there on the windowsil.

_'There is such a thing as a door'._ Shiva mentally sweat dropped.

_'She's always been theatricle'._ I thought.

"You know Rukia there is such a thing as a door. I mean it was right there". I said anyway. Rukia didn't even pay attention to me. She was looking at Ichigo and he had a dumbfounded look on his face.

Rukia jumped from the windowsil and high kicked Ichigo in his face. She sent him flying right into Renji's arms. Renji held Ichigo with his arms behind his back and looked away guiltily. Rukia ran up to Ichigo and slapped Ichigo in the face several times. Then Ichigo was yelling.

"What the hell was that for". Rukia yelled right on back.

"It was for your pathetic face! Now come on"! She pulled on her red fingerless glove on her hand and pulled Ichigo out of his body. She dragged him out the window. I simply stood there and sighed.

"He was just asking for that. What with that face he was making". Renji said.

"What? I thought that face was cute". Rangiku said.

"You think any guy is cute". Yumichika said.

"Who asked you Yumichika"? Rangiku yelled at him. I left those three to bicker.

"Why did I get stuck with these idiots"? Toshiro gritted in between his teeth to himself. I stepped beside him.

"Good luck dude". He looked at me with hate in his eyes. I stuck my tongue out at him. I then took Ichigo's body from Renji and then spoke aloud for the rest of the stunned class to hear.

"I better take Ichigo to the nurse. I'll be back in a minute". I then glared at Renji for good measure, and apparently Renji didn't know what acting was, cause he paled at the sight of my glare. I then winked at him to let him know that he wasn't in trouble. He then relaxed and sighed.

_'It just got a whole lot more crowded around'._ I could do nothing, but agree with her.

_'But at least it's going to liven up around here'._ We both laughed as I heafted Ichigo's body to the roof to wait for him and Rukia got back. This would definitly be interesting.

Me: Wow. Long ass chapter and right there at the begining I had a major pain in the ass writer's block but once I got out of it I was writing like crazy. I hope everyone liked this chapter.

Luna: Yay!

Nami Kagamira: Sweet.

Me: Claire's back too and with a new guy. We're gonna get to know them a little better in the next chapter K? Until then have a totally awesome summer.

Attack by 30 Seconds to Mars

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	19. The Soul Reapers Return

Me: Yay! It's finally summer time!

Ichigo: Not for us in the story.

Me: True. Summer has come and gone away. Back to Karakura High.

Luna: Time for the fun to begin.

Nami Kagamira: Yes. We torture our opponents that we fight.

Me: True. Now lets get this show on the road. I own nothing but my crazy ideas.

"I live to fight and die another day".

Breaking Benjamin, song: Fade Away

**Chapter 19: The Soul Reapers Return**

Emma's POV

I was in class when I saw Rukia dragging Ichigo from Dominique's classroom and out the window. Rukia jumped on Ichigo's back and made him shunpo off to the west for some reason or another. That was when I felt the presensce of a hollow. I grinned and laughed out loud, but when the rest of the class started staring at me I tried to disguise it as a cough.

_'Don't think it worked'._ Arteamus said with a laugh of her own.

_'Oh shut up'._ I snapped at her. That was when I recognized several other familiar reiatsus from Dominique's classroom. Renji, Toshiro, Rangiku, Ikakku, and Yumichika, but there were two others that I didn't recognize. They were surpressed, but it was obvious that they were captain class soul reapers. I looked to my right and saw that Shuan was also looking out the window as well.

I sighed, but I couldn't leave class at the moment. There was no immediate threat and if I simply skipped class when there was nothing going on then my grades would drop like when I first entered the shadow academy. Since then though, I'd become more adept at getting my homework done from both sets of classes.

_'Dominique sure is lucky that she already graduated from the academy huh'?_ Arteamus said. I had to agree. She no longer had to go through all the different classes along with her human school classes.

_'Yeah. But now she has paperwork to do. I don't envy her there'._ Arteamus laughed.

_'You know that if Dominique heard you two talking about that she's probably kick yall's asses'._ Shinku no Chi said with an happy giggle.

_'Shut it you fire cat. We all know she hates paperwork, almost as bad as she hates a good makeover and shopping. I swear there's something wrong with her on that account. She always puts paperwork off until the last minute'._ I said to two of the four tenants in my head. The other two were off sleeping, as usual.

Shinku no Chi's spirit form was actually a woman/cat hybrid. She wore a long red kimono that was deep red all over, with two long flowing ribbons on the back. Her face was void of the black fur that covered her cat feet and human/cat hybrid-like hands that she kept hidden in the kimono. Her hair was short and midnight black to match her fur.

The only things that really gave her away as a cat was her fuzzy ears and long tail, the rest of her was covered by the kimono. Other than that, she looked like a normal woman, except her eyes, which the irises were pure red and the pupils were slitted.

For me being a wolf, not to mention my hollow mask being in the shape of a wolf skull, to the fact that Arteamus was wolf-like in nature, Shinku no Chi was sort of the oddball but everyone got along about as well as Dominique and Shiva did.

That was when I noticed Dominique on the roof above the bulding her classroom was in, with a bored but serious expression on her face. I saw a tuft of orange beside her.

_'She must have Ichigo's body'._ Shinku no Chi and Arteamus agreed.

"Miss Moody"? The teacher called. I brought my attention from the window.

"Um, sorry Mr. Una. What number was it again"?

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

I sat on the roof as I waited for Ichigo and Rukia to return, I felt Emma's gaze on me. I pretended I didn't notice though. I had a much more important matter to think about. I would talk to Ichigo when they got back from killing that hollow.

_'We need to get back to the training'._ Shiva said. I nodded. He had to learn to control his power. If he didn't...then he would be at a dissadvantage in this war. I was snapped from my thoughts when two familiar reiatsus were heading my way. Ichigo and Rukia showed up and landed on the roof. He had a few new cuts on him. I walked up to him when he landed on the roof.

"Healing shadow 22". I murmured and started healing the wounds on his head and shoulder. I then looked at him while I healed him, "Did Rukia knock some sense into that hard head of yours"? He looked away, embarassed while Rukia spoke up.

"Yah. But your're gonna have to do the rest I'm afraid. He's so damn stubborn". Rukia said with a shrug.

"Very true". I then turned to Ichigo as he got back in his body. "'Ichigo. Follow me". I didn't give him the chance to argue or complain as I walked towards the door, as if heading back to class. Rukia walked through the door ahead of me and back to the classroom, but just before I walked through the door, I shut it, and turned back to Ichigo.

"What's going on Dominique"? Ichigo asked me. I looked at him seriously while crossing my arms across my chest in irritation.

"Tell me what's really bothering you Ichigo". His eyes cut away and onto the ground. I then continued, "Was it because of those arrancars a few days ago, or was it because of Hichigo"? He looked at me.

"Because I was weak, you and Orihime got hurt. I was too weak to protect you". His voice dripped with self loathing. I walked up to him and lifted my hand.

Ichigo's POV

Dominique looked like she was about to slap me. I would've deserved it. I shut my eyes and waited for the sharp smack that was coming. That was when I felt her hand cup my face gently while her other hand pressed gently on my chest. I opened my eyes cautiously and saw that Dominique's face was softened with understanding. Her deep blue eyes glowing brightly at me, filled with love.

"You big idiot. I was hurt protecting Orihime, because that's the risk of protecting others. If you protect someone then you place yourself in the line of danger instead of them. Now, sit". She ordered me. She sat down on the floor and I sat in front of her. She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment before she let out a loud sigh.

"Ichigo. What happened to you when you were fighting Yammy was natural. It happeneds to everyone, it even happened to me. That is why most shadow shinigami go through special training at the shadow academy, but since there is no time for you to go to the academy then you will have to train with me in order to work together with Hichigo". Shiva materialized beside her, and she sat down fluidly beside Dominiuqe.

"When your body froze, it wasn't because of Hichigo himself. It was because of your two different reiatsus mixing together before they were ready to". I was confused.

"Then why were we able to link before? Not to mention how did he take over my body during the fight with Byakuya"? Shiva was the one to speak up.

"When your body is weakened in battle to the point where you are at your limit or you're knocked unconcious, it is posible for Hichigo to take over temporarily. Or when you're in your body, it is easier for him to take over as well". Shiva said matter of factly. Dominique continued her explination.

"Because, while you are in your human body your soul reaper reiatsu isn't as strong and as concentrated as it is when you are out of your body. This makes it easier to work with your hollow. That is one of the reasons that we spar while in our human bodies. The more relaxed we are while working with our hollows, the easier it is to fight with them. So naturaly we are more relaxed while in our bodies". So that was why she made us fight while we were in our bodies earlier in training.

"While you are in battle, it's harder to concentrate on balancing your reiatsu. When you are in the middle of a battle, your blood is pumping, and your adrenaline is rushing, causing you to not think as clearly. Sometimes though, that's a good thing". Dominique jumped in.

"Your instincts are your greatest assets in battle. When simply outsmarting your opponent won't cut it then you have to out power them. Not to mention listening to your instincts conects you with your hollow and therefore makes both of you stronger. In life and death situations, it's critical that you are at your strongest". I now understood how she had been fighting. I remembered how she had acted cool and collected, but at times let loose, and was completely unpredictable.

"Is there some way of learning to calm myself and keep my body from freezing in the middle of a battle"? Dominique and Shiva nodded at the same time. Dominique then grabbed my hand and placed it on the place where her shoulder and neck met.

"What do you feel"? I was preocupied for a moment by the feel of her soft skin under my hand.

"Your neck". That was the first thing that came out. She rolled her eyes.

"Other than that captain obvious". I felt her pulse running though the veins in her neck. It was calm and rythmic.

"Your pulse"? She grinned and nodded. Then Shiva spoke up.

"Now can you find your own pulse without feeling your own neck"? I closed my eyes and focused inward. I felt the continuous thumping of my heart in my chest. I still had my hand on Dominique's neck so I still felt her's too. Her pulse was slightly faster than mine yet she seemed completely calm. I kept my eyes closed as I answered her.

"Yes".

"Good. When you feel Hichigo's reiatsu come up and your body begins to lock down, find your pulse and imagine your power running in a steady stream thoughout your body through your blood. Your blood is the key. You see, the power flows through your body almost identically with your blood vessels. Imagine that all of the energy is spreading though your body, when you do that, your muscles will relax". I could feel her reiatsu flowing benieth her skin as if it was connected with her pulse even though I'd never been good at that sort of thing. I removed my hand from Dominique's neck and opened my eyes.

"When you do that a link will be made with Hichigo and then half of your mask will cover your face. Your vision in your eyes will be blocked out for a moment, but you can't panic. After a few seconds your vision will return and then it will be time to kick ass. The more you do it though, the faster and less effort you'll have to put into it. You got that"? Shiva said with a grin.

"Yeah. Thanks". They both laughed at the same time.

"No need to thank us". Shiva then spoke up.

"You are our trainees afterall. Not to mention our boyfriends". I knew that she was talking about Hichigo as well as myself. That was when I noticed that Dominique wasn't wearing her pendant.

"Where's your necklace"? Dominique looked down and giggled. She reached into her shirt and pulled out the dragon pendant.

"I wasn't sure if they allowed people to wear neclaces here, so I wore it on the inside of my shirt". So she had been wearing it. It made me happy. A smile grew on my face.

"Well I better be getting back. The school bell is probably gonna ring any second now". Shiva said before dissappearing. Dominique then stood up and I followed suit.

"Tomorrow we're going to get back to your training". She said as she opened the door. I nodded. We then went back to class, during which, I looked back on that last fight with a new perspective.

_Flashback:_

I told Orihime to stand back and for Dominique to stand guard over them. She had a pout on her face, but she went to stand behind Chad anyway's while Orihime healed him. I looked at his arm and got even more pissed. The other guy had called the big one Yammy so I would deal with this Yammy guy first.

"Were you the one who did that to Chad's arm? Then I'll start with your arm". I said as I shunpoed forward and up into the air. I sliced through his arm easily. I placed my foot on Yammy's head and frontflipped onto the ground behind him. I landed just as the arm fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

_'This should be easy'._ I thought. Though something was bothering me. The one named Yammy and the other guy were strange looking and thier reiatsus felt wierd too. They had holes in their chest, cracked hollow's mask, and swords at thier sides. I put the thought from my mind and resumed attacking the big guy.

By the time I pulled back a little Yammy was cut up badly, but was still standing.

"I'm surprised that you're still standing. I guess you're as tough as you are ugly". I said as I smirked at him.

"You damn flea"! Yammy yelled at me. He was panting hard and bloodied.

"Are you having trouble? Shall I take over for you"? The smaller guy called to Yammy.

"Stay back"! Yammy yelled. That was when he reached for his sword with his other hand.

"What's this? Are you actually going to draw your zanpakuto for a little flea like that"? That made my eyes go wide.

_'So that sword is a zanpakuto. Just who are these guys'?_ I thought. I shook it off; it didn't matter. I prepared to attack when Hichigo spoke up.

_'Let me help'._ I felt him try to link with me, but a splitting pain filled my head. My hand immediatly went to my face as I bent over, trying to dispell the pain. I found though that my body wouldn't respond. I looked up, just in time to see Yammy grinning at me, before he kicked me hard in my stomach. I was sent flying. I heard Dominique cuss and saw her running towards Yammy with her zanpakuto raised, but Orihime ran ahead of her towards me.

_'No'!_ I had to do something.

"Stay back Orihime"! I called out just before I felt a heavy punch to my head. I landed on the ground with an audiable crack, but I was able to see both Orihime and Dominique running at me. Yammy went to hit Orihime, but Dominiuqe was able to shunpo infront of her. She took the hit herself. I watched as Orihime land on the ground and roll, but Dominique landed on the ground hard with a crunching sound, and saw that her head was bleeding heavily. The blood pooled around her.

"Dominique! Orihime! NO"! I yelled out just before I got hit again. I tried to stand up, but my body kept locking down. I could feel Hichigo trying to help, but everytime he did, it got worse. The pain would come back twice as bad everytime he tried to help. I continued to get smacked around. That last time I got thrown onto the ground I saw that Dominique's body was still on the ground and hadn't moved. There was a large pool of blood now around her head and her arm was lying at an odd angle.

_'Dominique...'._ I continued to try to move as Yammy went to kill me with a palm strike. Just as he was about to land the hit, I saw Yoruichi and Urahara appear in front of me.

"Sorry we're late Ichigo". Urahara had a red energy shield in front of him; blocking Yammy's hand.

"These bugs just keep coming. Oh well, that just means you wanna get killed first"! He went to hit Yoruichi, but she grabbed his arm and flipped him over with ease.

"I'll handle this". She took something from Urahara, just as Yammy went to hit them both. She beat the crap out of him. Urahara walked over to me while Yoruichi went to Orihime. Urahara lifted me into a sitting position. I wansn't really paying attention to him though, I was looking at Dominique. I saw her body twitch.

She lifted her head up and looked at where Yoruichi and Orihime were. Blood ran down her face from where she'd been hit. I looked back and saw that Yammy had just began charging a cero.

Dominiuqe was then standing in front of Yoruichi and Orihime as she blasted Yammy's cero with her own. She'd moved so fast, that I couldn't even see it. The explosion caused a huge crater to form between her and Yammy. Her face was covered in blood, but she was grinning defiantly. Her left arm was dangling by her side, but she pointed her other hand at Yammy and fired another cero only to be blocked by the smaller guy. The guy in question backhanded Yammy in the stomach, hard.

"Whatcha do that for Ulquiorra"? The guy named Ulquiorra looked at Yammy, his expression didn't even change.

"You idiot. Those two are Kisuke Urahara, and Yoruichi Shihoin. You wouldn't last two minutes against them in your current level". He touched the air and opened a garganta. He then said, "We're leaving".

"Are you running away"? Yoruichi said. Ulquiorra looked back at her with a superior look in his eyes.

"Are you trying to goad me into a fight? You know very well what would happen if you try to fight us while protecting those pieces of trash. Even with the other one up she can't do much damage, not to mention the other one is unable to fight at all. Our mission is complete. I'll tell Lord Aizen that the two soul reapers that he had his eye on are nothing but trash". Ulquiorra and Yammy walked into the garganta and dissapeared. I looked at Dominique who was running towards me after she picked up her Tensa Zangetsu.

I looked away from her though. I couldn't believe that was more worried about me than herself. She was injured, with blood pouring from her head wound, but she was worrying herself over me. She even picked me up and helped me back to Urahara's. Guilt washed thick and heavy over me all the way there.

_End Flashback_

Now that I looked back, I understood what had happened. I felt all of the guilt leave me. It was like a ton of wieght was lifted off my shoulders.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

When class let out, Rukia and Dominique came back to my house. When we got to my room we were greeted by Kon. He went to tackle Rukia but she stomped him into the ground.

"Same old Kon. Same old tiny room too". That twitched a nerve.

"Hey, don't go comparing my room to Byakuya's mansion". Dominique giggled while both she and Rukia sat on my bed. Kon went to jump on them, but Tsumi jumped from Dominique's bag and tackled Kon into the ground.

"Calm your butt down or you'll be plushi road kill, got that"? Dominique then looked at them with a smirk on her face.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you liked Kon, huh Tsumi"? Tsumi looked at Dominique and was freaking out about it while the rest of us were grinning.

"I do not like him". She pointed her paw at the perverted lion under her feet.

"Then why do you stop him from going after a girl everytime he tries"? Dominique asked. If Tsumi could blush in that body I would bet she would be red as a tomato right now. Then Dominique continued, "Anyhow, time to get to the matter at hand". Her voice changed to one of seriousness.

"Don't leave us out of this". I heard Renji's voice from some unknown place.

"Renji"? I called. Dominique looked around, then up to the ceiling. I looked up just in time to see Renji, Ikkaku, Rangiku, and Yumichika's heads come through where my light was.

"Hello again". I heard Luna's voice say. That was when they all dropped from the cealing and onto the light cover that they dropped onto the floor. They broke it.

"What the hell? What did you guys do to my light"? Rangiku laughed.

"If you need a new lightbulb then here ya go". She pointed to Ikkaku's head, he was still hanging from the ceiling. He said something and then she punched him in the head. He fell to the floor, hard.

"What are yall doing here"? Dominique asked.

"We're here because you need to know what you're up against". Renji said. When everyone sat down and got comfortable, we started talking about the arrancars. They were telling us about how Aizen had teamed up with the arrancars. They also explained how the Soul Society had picked the advanced team to come to the World of the Living. In the process of that happening, I called Rukia's drawings crappy and she threw her book at me. Dominique simply sat there in my lap and laughed. That was when Toshiro came in the window.

He began telling us about the gillians, adjuchas, and finally the vasto lordes. I noticed that Dominique twitched slightly when he mentioned that last class, though I couldn't be sure.

"But even if they're stronger than normal hollows, what's the big threat"? I asked.

"I have to give you the grim truth. Vasto lordes are believed to be stronger than the soul reaper captains. If Aizen has more than twelve vasto lordes under his command, then the Soul Society is doomed".

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"So where are you going to be staying? There's no room for you here". I said. Rangiku's face looked heartbroken.

"What? Not even for me"? Rangiku moved towards me. That made me move back in my chair. I tried to scoot away from her. Dominique laughed as she sat in my lap. I had my hands on her shoulders and looked at Rangiku from around Dominique's head.

"Especially not you! You're the last person I'd let stay here"! I said. That was when she started undoing the buttons on her shirt.

"Ack! Not even if you undo a button"! I put my hands over my eyes and felt Dominique's silent laughter shake through me. After a second I peeked through my fingers, hoping that she'd given up. That was when she started fliping her skirt up. I started yelling.

"NOT EVEN IF YOU LIFT YOUR SKIRT A LITTLE! Dammit! A man like me doesn't give into temptation"! That was when I felt a pair of lips by my ear. I stayed frozen though. I wouldn't put it past Rangiku to do anything.

"Good boy". Dominique whispered in my ear. I opened my eyes and looked at her, she was leaning back and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I looked strictly at her. Anything to not see Rangiku who was grinning up at us. Rangiku looked strangely smug, which bothered me for some reason. I saw Dominique wink at her, that's when I understood.

_'I swear, girls always know how to manipulate someone'._ I thought glumly. They were masters of torture.

After that Ikkaku and Yumichika left to go to who knows where. Rangiku went to Orihime's, Toshiro reluctantly did the same. Dominique invited Luna and Nami to stay at her house. Emma, who had shown up earlier, led them back to the house, while Dominique stayed back with me. Renji went to mooch off of Urahara saying he wanted to ask him somthing. Rukia, who stood beside me and Dominique, was waving Renji off.

"You be carefull now"! Rukia called out to Renji.

"And just where are you staying"? I asked with my arms crossed. She was so not staying in my closet again. She froze. Then she bolted inside and Dominique followed behind her, laughing all the while. I yelled after them that she couldn't stay here, because my family had seen her.

"This is the only place I can stay! It's obvious that this is the only place right for me"! She called back. Dominique couldn't stop laughing as I continued to yell after her.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

I was silently laughing to myself as Rukia did a little sad story of how her house caught fire and that she had no place to stay or money for food. I knew that Ichigo's dad could tell that Rukia was a soul reaper, but he still continued to act the clueless dad part. Rukia was allowd to stay and I left saying to Ichigo that we had training first thing tomorrow. I walked quickly down the street. By the time I got to my house though, the sky had turned dark, and I saw the full moon up in the sky.

When I got back to the house though, I had an uneasy feeling. I felt that something was wrong. No. Like there was someone here who shouldn't be; an intruder. That was when I felt the energy ripple through the air.

"Emma"! I called. Both she and Shuan ran down the stairs, followed by Claire, Ronnie, Luna and Nami.

"You felt it too"? Shuan asked. That was obvious. Anyone could feel the mass of energies that just showed themselves. I nodded before I turned to Ronni with a wolf-like smirk on my face.

"Hey kid. You're about to see some real action. You can't get freaked or anything. Just remember that if you don't think that you can handle an enemy then call for Claire or Emma". I looked at him seriously. He cracked a grin.

"Right'o. But don't worry. I'm tougher than what I look". I laughed.

"I don't doubt it". I then turned to Emma and Shuan. I spoke with my section 13 leader's voice, "Emma, I want you to take Claire and Ronni and head towards the nearest threat. Shuan, I want you to keep an eye on them from the sky. Be ready. Now, go". I threw open the door as Claire and Ronnie ran down the street a short distance before they shifted. The two horse sized wolves stopped and waited for Emma to shift.

Claire, was a light brown wolf with a pink heart shaped patch of fur on her chest to match her pink eyes. Ronnie was a grey wolf with a silver paw shaped patch of fur on his chest with his green eyes. Emma grinned at me then practically launched herself from the front door and shifted in midair. She landed on her feet as the largest wolf; the alpha. She was pitch black and had a white cresant moon shaped patch of fur on her chest. Thier markings showed who and what they were. Then again not all shifters who changed into wolves had markings.

I was surprised to see that Ronnie had a marking. Brandon, who was my own cousin, never had a marking. He had always been a plain white wolf with enterwoven silver fur in his long coat. Maybe it was because he was different. I didn't know, but at the moment I didn't care too much.

Luna and Nami had swallowed thier soul candies and had already heading in a different direction than Emma and the rest of her pack. Shuan swallowed his mod soul; Rino and shunpoed to follow the racing wolves, he had thier change of clothes in an emergency bag strapped to his back alongside his zanpakuto. Every time they shift, thier clothes tear appart and scatter. Usually it's not a problem though, what with the mountain of clothes they own.

I grabbed Tsumi and jumped from my body. I soared off into the sky. I felt the full extent of the threat then. There were ten of them and they were spreading over the entire town instead of going to the places with the strongest reiatsu concentrations. They were going after anyone with spirit energy.

"Dammit". I felt Ichigo and Rukia heading towards Chad where one of the arrancars were. There were three where Rangiku, Toshiro, and Renji were and there was one by Ikkaku and Yumichika. Emma and the rest of my section were heading towards one of the arrancars. I opened my eyes in shock when I felt that Nami was alone in the town and was heading right for an arrancar, on her own.

Luna and the other captain named Nami were heading strait for a strong feeling arrancar. Lastly there was one heading strait for me, but what really shocked me was that there was one that stood still. That one seemed in the middle of it all, with the highest amount of reiatsu.

I shunpoed into the air, over to a park, and away from people. There would be less damage if we fought there and away from the humans. I landed on the ground as the arrancar showed itself to me.

The arrancar was a tall female, with short red hair that stuck up in odd places. She wore a smug grin and she had her zanpakuto at her side, her cracked hollows mask was almost like a flower on her forehead. I saw that her outfit was very revealing, like she'd ran out of fabric for the thing. I cocked my head to the side in confusion.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that you should cover up"? I pointed at the poor excuse of an outfit she was wearing as I sweat dropped. What was she, a slut? She laughed.

"Oh, so the soul reaper made a joke. Heehees. Just to get things started, I am arrancar 23; Reta Okena". I grinned.

"I'm from squad 0, section 13 leader; Dominique Kudo". She then let her grin fall off her face.

"I've never heard of a squad 0. But oh well. It doesn't matter anyway because you're going to be dead". She unshiethed her sword and came at me. I drew my blade and blocked hers with ease. I didn't even hold my Zangetsu with both hands.

"For an arrancar, you don't seem very strong. I have to say, I'm a bit dissapointed. Those other two that had come here were much stronger". Her face became pissed and she tried to hit me with a barrage of strikes. I blocked every last one of them, almost lazily. I then slashed downward and sent her flying away from me.

"Bitch". She sneered. That ticked me off.

"You wanna call me a bitch huh? Well then, bankai". I changed into my bankai state, then landed a kick to her face, and sent her flying into a tree before she could even blink. She stood up, with a bloody mouth turned in a frown. I grinned.

"You think that you're my equal soul reaper"? Reta said as she wiped the blood off her face and onto her arm. I could only smirk back at her.

"I don't think I'm your equal. I outclass you in every way. After all I'm not a soul reaper, but a shadow shinigami". I twirled my Tensa Zangetsu in my right hand by using the chain on my pointer finger. My left hand was behind my back, while I looked at her with a bored expresion. Reta laughed.

"You outclass me? Well then, I shall put you in your place and show you your sad mistake. Now entrap her, Lazo del Diablo". Her zanpakuto dissapeared, and then smoke filled the area, completely surrounding her. I noticed a bright light off in the distance. I looked over and saw a huge pillar of what appeared to be ice.

I felt Rukia's and Ichigo's reiatsu's there, so they must have taken down an arrancar. But I felt a stronger pressensce coming at them, it was the one that had stayed still at first. It worried me slightly.

_'I hope Ichigo takes the training seriously and fights alongside Hichigo'._ I thought.

I then turned back to Reta. Her release state looked like her body was made completely of vines. Thorned vines for arms, a mass of vines for a lower body and a flower around her neck that was bright pink. The mask fragment that had been on her forehead had dissapeared and replaced with a mask that was opened around her neck. It looked like the opening of a venus fly trap. All together it looked like an overgrown flower with teeth, a frilly pink flower at that.

"A little flashy isn't it"? I looked at her with a bored expression. That was when I felt something grab my leg and tear into my skin. My eyes flitted downward and I saw that I was surrounded by thorned vines. I slashed away at the vines attached to my legs and jumped into the air. My legs had several gashes on them and were bleeding lightly. Rita laughed.

"My Lazo del Diablo isn't so easily escaped. Not to mention, no matter how many times you cut up the vines they will always regrow. I cannot be killed! That is the power of my zanpakuto! Now die soul reaper"! Her vine arms came together and formed scyth-like blades. I was about to attack when I saw a huge explosion in the air a few neighborhoods away. That must have been Ikkaku's and Yumichika's fight. I shook my head and then charged forward at Reta.

I slashed and hacked away at her. Everytime I cut a vine though, several more would regrow from the cut end. I couldn't seem to get to the main body though. I wasn't really fighting seriously. The other's could easily take out the arrancars. We outnumbered them. I jumped up and front flipped over her, while I was in midair I held my left hand out towards Reta.

"Kage hado number 31, Shakkaho". A red fireball glowed from my hand and landed right in the middle of the writhering vines. It instantly caught and soon several of the vines were ablaze. Reta screamed and then I watched as she cut off her own limbs to stop the fire from spreading. Once the fire had eaten all the vines that were slashed off Reta looked up at me with hate filled eyes.

"You are going to pay for that". She practically hissed. I couldn't help it, but I laughed.

"Cash or credit"? I asked sarcastically. She looked up at me dumbfounded.

"Wha-"? I merely shook my head in pity. I was about to say something else when I saw movement from my perhipheral vision. I turned to look and saw that Ichigo was fighting someone in the distance. I could tell it was Ichigo from his rieatsu, but I didn't see Rukia...I could barely feel her presensce at all.

I watched as Ichigo's opponenet kicked him and sent him flying towards the ground. I saw a huge dust cloud form and watched as Ichigo's opponent shot towards the ground, moving so fast that it caused a sonic boom. I then turned back to Reta. I needed to wrap this up and get to Ichigo.

"Sorry, but I no longer have any time left to mess with you. I need to get going". She laughed.

"What? Is the little soul reaper worried about her friends"? She laughed again as I shunpoed/sonidoed behind her and slashed off her left vine arm. I then turned back to her as she looked at me in shock. Her arm was slower to regrow than the lesser vines. I stepped forward with a deadly expression on my face. No one threatens my friends and lives to tell the tale.

"As I said before I don't have the time to play around anymore. So, goodbye Reta Okena". I felt my power pulse through my body as I changed into my half hollow form. I stood there for a short second with my wings outstretched and continued to hold my Tensa Zangetsu in my right hand, while I pulled my mask to the side of my face with my left. My eyes were cold and dangerous as my reiatsu flared up and swirled around me.

Reta slithered back a few paces with genuine fear in her eyes. I quickly bit down on where the pad of my thumb would have been if I'd been in my normal state with my slightly elongated cainine tooth. A small rivulet of blood welled up from the bite mark.

"What the hell are you"? She asked shakily. I rushed forward and charged up a cero, but not just any cero; a gran rey cero. I normaly don't even think of using this move, but I needed to end this now and this was the fastest way to do it since she could regenerate herself. I put my hand in the mass of vines just as I released the huge cero.

It exploded and left a crater in the ground, leaving Reta there in her previous state and badly scorched, and gasping raspy breaths. As she began to fade, I turned my back to her. She had about five seconds left before she dissappeared completely.

"I already told you. I'm a shadow shinigami, not a soul reaper. Adios". I didn't wait for her reply as I took off into the air with my wings. I let my half hollow form dissapear though. I'd rather not be attacked by the soul reapers. I flew towards Ichigo while noting everyone elses fights. I even felt Ichigo's sister Nami fighting, her opponent's power was fading already. I continued to fly to Ichigo though. He was facing the strongest of the arrancars that came here. I needed to help him.

_'Please don't get yourself killed Ichigo'._ I thought as I flew through the night sky.

Me: Okay another chapter done! That one was okay. I think I did good on that one.

Shiva: We went to Hilton Head Island and it's beach. We have pics of it up on . If you wanna see it and see what the scene was for chapter 16 then look up JadeKurosaki's profile and her pics that she made.

Me: I found a sand dollar at the beach! I happy. Oh and there's a pic of the ground fountain too.

Me and Shiva: Have an awesome summer!

Me: Oh right the next chapter is special. You'll see. XD

Spanish to english translation: Lazo del Diablo-Devil's Snare (Yes Harry Potter people. The last movie kicked ASS!)

Song: Me Against the World by Simple Plan

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	20. Battles With the Arrancars

Me: Okay...sorry it's been so freaken long. I've been trying but school sucks like hell. I'm sorry, but the special chapter that was scheduled has been moved to another time. I hope you people won't be too mad at me. So here's the next instalment of The Hollows Mask!

Uknown person: Yo! Wazzup!

Me: Who the heck are you?

Unknown person: I'm Mimie! The queen of fudge!

Me and Shiva: ...(Sweatdrop)

Mimie: I wanna do the disclaimer!

Shiva: NO! Thats my job.

Mimie: Fine then, I will be back! (Dissappears)

Shiva: She owns nothing but her own ideas. (Slightly wierded out by the girl)

Me: Sadly it's true. (Same as Shiva)

(This is also a reason for this being late, my parents seperated and I've been having a really hard time dealing with it and helping my little brothers. Gomen to all.)

**Chapter 20: Battles With the Arrancars**

Emma's POV

I ran ahead of Claire and Ronnie, our paws silently padding into the soft ground as our muscles pushed us forward at incredible speeds. I led my pack as Shuan shunpoed overhead, our paws thudding rythmically against the freshly cut grass of the park. I not only senced the reiatsu, but also smelled the numerous arrancars that spread out over the area.

There was one heading right for us. When he appeared before us, we all stopped while Shuan kept going. We were hidden by the bushes of the park where we'd run to. Shuan landed on the ground in the clearing and the arrancar looked at him in dissaproval.

_'Stay back for a moment'._ I gave them the order. They looked at me and nodded.

"You soul reapers aren't very tough looking are you"? He shouldn't be talking, his voice was light and wispy and a completely girlish figure. Not to mention he had short spiky red hair, his mask fragment covered his lower jaw and was wearing something that looked more like a dress than a shihakusho compared to what the other two arrancars had been wearing, at least from the information Dominique gave me on them.

_'Gay'._ Claire said with a laugh. I nodded my huge wolf head. Ronnie was looking seriously at the arrancar. He wasn't about to mess up on our first mission

_'So that's supposed to be an arrancar'?_ He asked in disbelief.

_'Yep'._ I answered. He shook his head.

_'He don't look too tough'._ He laughed.

_'Just wait boyio. He's stronger than what he looks. Then again though so are we'._ Arteamus said lightly. Ronnie's thoughts were shocked, he hadn't been expecting to hear more than three voices. That's right. He still didn't know about zanpakutos and our inner hollows. He probably had thought that we were some sort of mixed beings instead of more than one being inhabiting a soul. I listened to Shuan as Arteamus and Shinku no Chi explained to him the situation and whatnot.

"Sorry, but I'm not a soul reaper bub. Full fledged shadow shinigami right here". Shuan pointed his thumb to himself proudly. I swear, men and thier pride.

_'Hey'._ Ronnie complained at that thought, turning his attention from Artemus and Shinku no Chi.

_'Oh shut up. You know you let your pride get the best of you sometimes'._ I countered.

_'Oh, and you don't'?_ Claire said with a laugh.

_'Hey, can we focus here? We do have an arrancar to kill over here'._ Shinku no Chi said. We all murmured mental appoligies and focused on our target. I put my nose up in the air and breathed in deeply. I smelled ice in the air, Toshiro must have released his zanpakuto. It made everything clearer and sharper smelling. I smelled blood, and noticed that Dominique's scent was among the others. She had been hurt, not much though cause her scent was light, almost nonexsistant.

_'She's toying with her opponents again'. _Claire said. I nodded. Both her and I knew of Dominique's tendancy of mentaly and phisicaly torturing her enemies in battle. I blame Captain Rose for that, after all, Dominique was her student. Even when I first entered the academy, Rose and Dominique were training a lot.

When Dominique first started sparing with me she would often looked spaced out and look to be an easy target, but if you tried to attack her directly from any angle then you would land on your ass and not know how in the hell you got down there. She would appear as if she hadn't moved and continue to twirl her sword in the air, as if your clumsy ass fell all by yourself. I learned fast how to keep that from happening, but then she would get serious, and therefore even more embarrasing on my part.

She had once been very cool and distant. Only really relaxing when she was around me or Rose. Though nowadays I was able to embarrass her on a near constant basis. Ever since she met Ichigo, she's grown soft, at least when it came to him. I was brought back to the present when I saw a movement in the corner of my eye. I looked at Shuan and he put his left hand behind his back. He made a cresent moon shape with his fingers and then flew up into the air.

That was our signal.

_'Ronnie, take him from my left. Claire, my right. I'm center. Go'! _I called out as I charged forward. We all ran forward and caught the unsuspecting arrancar by complete surprise. He had been looking up, because Shuan had taken to the air, and was charging downward. Claire caught him by his left wrist and Ronnie by his right wrist. I lunged and bit down on his throat. I pierced through his hierro with my wolf teeth easily and pinned him to the ground.

"What the hell! How in the hell did these wolves get here"? He screamed out and thrashed about as we bit down harder. Shuan landed by his head and pulled his Kuro Kori from his shieth on his back. The arrancar looked at him in complete terror. He knew he couldn't escape. Shuan smiled.

"This is my girlfriend". He pointed to me, "And this is her pack". He motioned towards Claire and Ronnie. Confusion mixed with fear on the arrancar's face.

"The wolf is your girlfriend"? He gurgled through the blood coming from his mouth. I actually couldn't believe he could make conversation, what with a wolf pinning him down by his throat. I let go though and moved slightly to the side. I huffed and left my body using a seperation tactic kido. My wolf body went limp, but I caught it before it could land on top of the arrancar. I pulled my body off to the side by the scruff on my neck.

"Then again, I'm not an ordinary wolf". I smirked. I unshiethed my Shinku no Chi from my scabbard on my back and pointed it downward towards the arrancar's face. Shuan did the same. The arrancar was stuttering in fear.

"P-p-please spare me"? He pleaded with us. I bared my teeth at the arrancar.

"You beg for your life. That shows that you are not a true warrior". Shuan said disapprovingly, his eyes cold.

"You're nothing but a coward. Discraceful". I muttered. Shuan and I stabbed down our zanpakutos at the same time into the arrancar's head. He gurgled up more blood and then dissapeared. I shiethed my Shinku no Chi after swinging it to get the blood off. I got back into my body and chuckled to myself.

_'That was fun'!_ Ronnie howled happily as he was wagging his tail. I could do nothing but laugh at him.

_"I swear'._ Claire said with affection. I sure did like this boy alot better than Brandon. I'm happy that she's happy. But I was thinking to myself.

_'If that's what most of Aizen's army is like then this'll be easier than I imagined'._ I thought. I then felt Dominique's reiatsu rise and turn dark and sinister. She changed into her half hollow form. That's when I smelled Ichigo's blood in the air. My soul reaper senses my be slightly lower while in my body, but my basic sences like sight, hearing, and smell were much stronger in this form.

I felt the arrancar's energy that had fought against Dominique dissapear. Then Dominique's energy began rushing in the direction of Ichigo. And by the speed that she's traveling, she was in a hell of a hurry. In any case I turned back to my pack and my boyfriend. We were needed elsewhere cause I smelled plenty of blood in the air. We turned tail and headed in the direction of Toshiro and his group.

Nami's POV

I was standing infront of a girly looking arrancar. She was dark skinned with glasses...no wait, that's her mask...I think. Her blond and red hair was pulled up into a side ponytail and she was wearing a white outfit that looked like a way too short skirt and a overly exposing top. She wore high heeled shoes.

I stood there proudly now that I had finally recovered fully, physicaly that is. I even had on my squad 14 captain's hiori. It was in the normal fashion that the normal soul reaper captains had, unlike Rose's inverted one. The inside of my coat was white, unlike thier hioris though. I had my Orora Tenshi at my side, still as silent as ever. My zanpakuto had yet to speak to me, even though I knew both shikai and bankai.

The arrancar didn't waste any time, she lunged forward and tried to stab at me with her bare hand. And from what Dominique had told us, she could kill me with her bare hands if I didn't defend myself. I was able to bring my Orora Tenshi out of the scabbard and block her move with enough time to minimize the amount of momentum that flowed between her hand and my blade. I was able to send it back at her and send her flying.

She pulled herself up from the small crater she made when she landed. She stepped from the crater and grinned at me.

"You snot nosed brat, I am arrancar number 22; Mia Harley, and you should know that-". She looked like she was about to say something else, but I interrupted her.

"Captain of squad 14, Nami Kurosaki". It had felt really good saying that out loud. The words made it seem even more true. Mia face lit up.

"Oooh, a captain huh? Well I'm just one lucky girl today huh"? She grinned feraly. I grinned back at her. Hanging out with Dominique and the others had changed me. I was now more relaxed when fighting than I ever was before. I may not be able to remember everything, but I remembered that I used to hate fighting. Meeting Ichigo and the rest of them had changed me. It was time to prove whether or not it was a good thing.

I held my blade in front of me, with the blade loosely held in my upturned hand.

"Now, soar through the skies, Orora Tenshi". I called quietly as the energy of the world around me flowed into my body and my blade. The last time I had done this I had been so terrified and nearly deranged from my time in the World of the Living alone. Now that I was fully recovered and calm, my blade sang as it changed into the huge ax with the spear at the other end. It began to take energy from the world around me with more vigor now.

My wings twitched in thier confinements, wanting to stretch, my hiori was also different from any other captains, because it had the slits in it that enabled my wings to slip through it.

I pulled on the loose cloth that held my wings in place. It insantly fell away and revealed my wings that were the same light brown as my hair. They instantly spread and I lifted slightly from the ground. I was rewarded with the shocked look of the arrancar's surprised face. I placed my other hand back on my Orora Tenshi and got into a fighting stance as my feet, in my stealth force type shoes, touched the ground again.

I knew that when I did this, I looked like a warrior angel. I remembered my brother once telling me so. I felt a quick pang of sadness for not being able to remember his name, but I refocused on the battle.

"What in the hell is that"? She stuttered. Her voice was rude and I felt the urge to shut her up. I twirled my blade in my hand and then took off into the air. I brought my blade down hard, but she was just able to bring her's up just in time to block it.

Not completely though cause she was thrown onto the ground, making another crater. I was about to attack again when another arrancar was thrown towards me. I ducked down just in time for the arrancar to pass over me and crash into the tree. It was a guy and he looked like he was some sort of frog mixed with a person.

That was when both Captains Luna and Nami came into the clearing. They looked at me and then both of them started scratching the backs of their heads in embarassment.

"What's up"? I asked, my expression smoothing out into my normal look of mild curiosity.

"Sorry to interrupt your fight". Luna laughed.

"Yah, sorry". Nami said.

"No problem. I was just about to finish mine off when you showed up". I said truthfully.

"Yeah. Nami and I were about to finish ours' off too. Ugly thing, isn't he"? Luna said. I sweat dropped a little. Not at her last comment of course, cause that arrancar they were fighting was in fact very ugly. But, being that there were two people who's name was Nami was a little wierd. I could tell that the other Nami thought the same.

Oh well, at least our last names were different. That was when the two arrancars got up and stood side by side.

"You soul reapers think you can win"? The one named Mia said. I then looked at Luna while pointing to the other male arrancar.

"Who's that"? They both shrugged.

"Don't know. We didn't ask and he didn't say anything. We never did care much for all that proper give your name and ask for their name in return crap". Nami said. I nodded. I noticed that both of them had thier zanpakutos released and ready. I couldn't help but giggle as I got back into a fighting stance. I crouched low to the ground as I prepared to attack with Luna and Nami at my side. Both grinning like crazy. I couldn't help it, but I grinned as well just before we charged.

Ichigo's POV

I had been standing with Rukia after she took down that arrancar, D-Roy. Another arrancar showed up, but this one was different. The last one was cocky and a fool. He was easily defeated, but this arrancar had reiatsu that distorted the atmosphere itself. This one was like those two from before. We needed to watch ourself. I ran through Dominique's training quickly and was sure I could beat him. Hichigo was at attention as well.

"Which one"? The arrancar said. Both Rukia and I stood there; confused. He then spoke up again, "Which one of you's the strongest? Who's gonna take me on"? He said with a feral smirk on his face. I turned and looked at Rukia who's eyes had gone wide with what could only be fear. She turned my way.

"Ichigo! Ru-"! She was cut off by the arrancar when he suddenly stabbed his hand through her stomach.

"I figured it probably wasn't you". He looked down as Rukia's lips moved and blood dribbled from her mouth. The arrancar lifted her up, with his hand still in her stomach, and tossed her to the side like a piece of trash. Rage filled me and I charged forward only to see the arrancar grin at me mockingly as I raced towards him with my Zangetsu raised.

"Rukia"! I called as I charged. The arrancar turned to smirk at me just as I slashed downward. He blocked it with just his bare arm. I bounded back when he blocked my first strike, but I rushed forward again. He blocked it and then raised his reiatsu. I was sent flying into the air.

"What the hell"? I said in surprise. This guy was deffinitly different from the one I fought before.

"Who in the hell do you think I am soul reaper? I'm going easy on you, I'm willing to wait until you release your bankai. If you don't, I'll punch you full of holes just like I did to that other soul reaper over there. What's the matter? Too scared to fight"? He motioned towards Rukia who was lying on the ground. Chappy was standing over her, protecting her.

"You bastard! Bankai"! I released my power and changed into my bankai form. I stood there and let the energy swirl around me. I used my fastest shunpo and charged at the arrancar. He dodged my strike, but I kicked off from the ground and jabbed my Tensa Zangestu forward. He caught it with his hand and then dragged me foward before sending me flying down the street. I was able to catch myself and then flew up into the air.

The arrancar was standing in the air and I charged right at him. He went to punch me, so I used my shunpo to move behind him and slashed at him. He twisted around and blocked it with his hand.

"What is this guy"? I growled to myself. I didn't see how he was able to be hit by my blade, but not be cut since the other one had been. This was Kenpachi all over again, but worse. No, I would win, no matter what. That was when he kicked me in the stomach, hard. Blood flew out of my mouth as I was knocked back. The kick was so strong, it sent me flying to the ground with the world blurring around me.

I hit the ground hard, so hard it made a huge crater in the middle of an intersection. I staggered, but I was just able to stand up in time for him to try to strike. I was able to block his punch with my blade, but he kicked me again and sent me flying along the ground and against a building. I struggled as I tried to stand back up. I looked forward and saw that he was standing right above me. He grabbed the front of my bankai coat and hauled me up to my feet.

Then he started continuously punching my face. I couldn't move as he continued to laugh and punch me around. My body was numb from the pain. Then he hit me up into the air then he punched me back down to the ground. In the same crater as before. I was able to stand up and took a fighting stance, but I waited for the dust cloud to dissapear. I was fed up with this.

"What's the matter soul reaper? You've used your bankai, and all it gives you is average speed? Pathetic"! I charged up a Getsugatensho to max power. Just as the dust cloud dissapeard I released it.

"Tch, Getsugatensho"! I called as the red/black energy blast soared into the sky at the arrancar. It caused a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, I saw that the arrancar was still standing. With barely a scratch on him.

_'Dammit! What the hell'?_ I thought in disbelief. The arrancar lowered his arms and grinned at me.

"What the hell was that? Ulquiorra didn't mention that move in his report. Not a word". I smirked back at him.

"I'm not such a dissapointment now am I"? I panted. That move had taken it's toll on me as well as the thrashing from earlier.

"Maybe, soul reaper, you might be worth killing after all". I continued to grin up at him. I know I can't do this alone though.

_'Link'?_ Hichigo asked.

_'Yes'._ I thought. I felt my body lock down and a sharp pain in my head as he raised his power, but I quickly focused. I imagined our power flowing through my body. I relaxed my muscles and focused on the energy itself. Black began to seep across my vision. I instictively wanted to fight back against it, but I didn't. The black had only seeped across half of my left eye before someone appeard right behind the arrancar. The arrancar was about to draw his zanpakuto, but the man behind him spoke up first.

"Put your sword away Grimmjow". That voice!

"Tosen! Why the hell are you here"? Grimmjow said. Tosen? Wait, that was one of the captains who defected with Aizen.

"You ask why? I think you know. You came to the World of the Living, you took nine arrancars with out permission, and then lost them all in battle". That means everyone else won. A short ping of relief filled me for a moment. Tosen continued talking, "Aizen is most displeased with you Grimmjow. Now let's go. Your punishment will be decided in Hueco Mundo". He opened a garganta.

"Fine". Grimmjow said curtly. No, this battle was not finished yet.

"Wait! Where are you going"? I called angrily.

"Are you deaf or something soul reaper? We're going home. Home to Hueco Mundo".

"No way! You come here and attack us, then you think you can just leave? Get back here! This isn't over until I say it is dammit"! I yelled as rage flowed through me, causing the black to seep even farther across my eye.

"Get over it. The only reason you're still alive is because I'm going home. It's obvious that move of yours took it's toll on you, I can see it in your face. You might have been able to do it two, maybe three more times. But even if you could do it a hundred time you still wouldn't beat me! You wouldn't last a second with me in my release mode".

"Release mode"? What the heck was that?

"Don't forget my name, and pray you never hear it again. Grimmjow Jeagerjaques! Cause the next time you hear that name, you'll be a dead man, I promise". The garganta closed around him and he dissapeared. I fell forward, onto my knees as Hichigo pulled back, the energy drained away. I was able to stand up though after a short minute. I felt his rage along with my own. I then felt a huge reiatsu approaching me, I didn't recognize it at first, but then I relized that it was Dominique's.

Dominique shunpoed to my side in her bankai state as well. She didn't seem to have any injuries except for a few slash marks on her hakama. There was blood on her sandals so her legs must have been hit or something.

"Ichigo, are you alright"? She asked, worried. I nodded solemly. She smiled at me as she gently hugged me on my shoulders. I felt another presensce approach us.

"That arrancar went back to Hueco Mundo didn't it"? Renji said as he walked up. He was as badly injured as me, if not, worse.

"Yeah". I said, answering both thier questions. Renji spoke up again.

"Did you win"? No.

"I lost". Renji scoffed.

"You stupid idiot. The fact that you're still alive means that you won". Dominique shook her head in dissaproval. She apparently knew what I was feeling.

"You know that's not true. If you were me, you'd feel the same way". Dominique's arms tightened around me gently as I looked up at the sky.

"Ichigo"? She asked quietly into my shoulder. I swore to myself that I would make that arrancar pay.

"Grimmjow...".

Dominique's POV

I helped Ichigo over to where Orihime was healing Rukia. Nami and Luna were mostly uninjured. Ichigo's sister was unscathed as well. Toshiro had bandages all across his chest. Emma, Shuan, and the rest of the pack soon showed up after checking on Yumichika and Ikkaku. Emma started helping me and Orihime heal the group. I was able to heal Ichigo while Orihime fixed up Rukia's stomach. Emma healed Renji and then moved to Toshiro and finished what Orihime started.

I looked at Ichigo. He was standing off to the side with a serious look on his face. I walked up to him.

"Ichigo. What's the matter"? I asked.

"I could have beaten him. I was almost linked. Damn that Tosen". He said while barring his teeth in a grimace. His face set into a deep scowl. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. Just be proud of the fact that if things had played out like they were supposed to then you would have done a successfull link with Hichigo on your first try in the middle of a serious battle. Don't forget that you were also heavily wounded. You did perfectly fine". His eyes sofened as he looked down at me.

"Thank you". He said. I giggled.

"No need to thank me Ichigo". I said as he pulled me flush against his chest, crushing me to him. I leaned my head against him and relaxed for a short moment as he burried his face in my hair. After that all too short moment, I walked over to where Toshiro was and asked if he had found any information about the arrancars and/or Aizen that would be helpful.

It turned out that the arrancar's numbers represents the order of thier birth, but that only goes for numbers above ten. The arrancars one to ten are called espadas and are in charge of the others. Apparently an espada had been here tonight. I knew that it had to be that Grimmjow guy that fought Ichigo. I knew that we'd gotten off lucky, what with no deaths on our side.

The fact was that even though they had hurt Toshiro and most of his team they had been small fry. By their power levels, I'd say that they were gillians at least, one or two might have been adjuchas. I wasn't entirely sure. One thing I was sure of though, that guy Grimmjow had definitly been a vasto lorde. Just in his sealed state he had more reiatsu than all of the other arrancars combined.

I was actually glad that Tosen had stopped the fight. Even though I had told Ichigo that he would have won if things had of kept going, I don't think he would have made it if Grimmjow had released his zanpakuto. I would have been able to get there in time though, even I would have probably had to use my mask, or one of my hollow forms to beat him in his released state.

Whatever the case was, I needed to up Ichigo's training. He needed his hollow mask, quite possibly a hollow form as well. I was confident that he would have one. I wonder if it will be similar to mine or completely different. Oh well, all I can do is wait and see.

_'I'll have to tell him everything. Even my vasto lorde form'._ Only a select group of people know. Rose and Sero were the first to find out. I'm sure she's told her seated officers as well. It's not common to see a shadow shinigami with both a hollow form and a vasto lorde form. There were some with just one or the other, but not many who had vasto lorde forms. They were mostly higher ups in the squad.

After everyone was healed up, we all went our seperate ways and headed home. Ichigo seemed reluctant to go, so I walked up to him.

"Ichigo. I want you to head on home and get a good night's rest. At the crack of dawn tomorrow I want you at my house. It's time we got serious about your training before another attack comes along". He looked at me seriously before nodding and taking off from the roof top. I looked at his retreating figure. I gripped the chain that wrapped around my chest, holding Zangetsu in place on my back.

As the rest of the group dissapated I watched them all go silently. Soon Emma and Shuan were the only ones left. They knew me well and knew that there was something on my mind. But they also knew not to pry at a time like this. They both shunpoed away as well. Now I was the only one left on the roof. I looked up at the sky. I sighed and shunpoed off the roof. My feet leisurely touching the cool night air.

Shiva was silent. She had enjoyed our battle, but she was worried about what was going to happen next. Just like me. I sighed as I jumped in through my window to my room. I got back in my body that had been placed on my bed. There was a note beside it.

_Dominique,_

_I know where you're going so I'll tell the others not to worry. Just make sure to check in every now and again. You still have duties as a section leader you know. Say hi to Ichigo for me okay, and good luck with his training; he's gonna need it._

_Emma _

I sighed again as I got back into my body. I stayed like that though, just laying in my bed and staring up at the ceiling. I sat there for several minutes in deep thought. I felt so tired and worn out. Not physically though, my well trained body wouldn't betray me that way, but emotionally. Not in all five years of being a shadow shinigami had there been so much stress. It had always been, survive, training, or paperwork...nothing too serious...well maybe the paperwork was.

But now I had to train Ichigo, keep up with my section leader duties, go to school, fight in a friggen war, keep the peace around some wierd ass town that attracts way too many hollows like a magnet, be away from home permanently, and be in a relationship with my boyfriend who is also the guy I'm training...the last one is the best though.

How in the world had everything changed so freak'n fast in the pieriod of just a few months? It all had started with some trip that some benifactor had sponsored to increase the culture of a school. Why our school? Why my group? I mean sure we started a culture club, but that didn't seem so important. We all were interested in different cultures, but it had only been half of the club that got to go much less why just my close friends who'd been appart of my section. ...Then again we were the only ones in the group to have strait A's in all of our classes...oh well, who cares?

It didn't make any sense. I had never been one to believe that things happened by fate. We shadow shinigami, and even just normal soul reapers and hollows were beings that were not affected by fate. Even before I had become a shadow shinigami, I hadn't believed in coincidences or some divine power that rules over us like puppets.

Sure there was the soul king but he didn't really interfere with the lives of the people outside of the royal family. He sometimes delt with squad 0, but that was it. I still hadn't seen him for myself yet. I had to wait until after my 21st birthday to go in front of the soul king.

Either way the priciple had said that the trip to Japan would be "An educative experience that would be passed on to all the other students by the select students and teachers that would go on this trip". Fat lot of good this trip did for the school. It made my life a whirlwind of troubles, but of course there were plenty of good things along the way too.

The two teachers made it back okay, thanks to Emma's kido, but since we didn't come back with them, I'm sure they must have went through hell for it. Then again, Rose seemed to know what we were up to in the Soul Society. So maybe she knew about the trip in the first place. She probably helped the human teachers out at the school.

Bribed the priniple most likely. Humans were always more cooprative when money was involved. I laughed to myself at the thought.

I soon moved onto a new thought process. I decided the best way to relieve the pent up stress was to go to my inner world. I've always been able to relax when I go there, it was **my** space (Not myspace people :D). I closed my eyes and relaxed my tense muscles. I focused my mind untill I felt the familiar falling sensation as I was pulled into my inner world.

Me: Well that chapter is done. I hope yall liked it.

Kyle: I will be making my first appearance soon!

Me: Yep. We gonna get a sneek peak at the world of Hueco Mundo soon so sit tight and be paitient. Anywho the next chapter should come soon so relaxe and hit that little button down there that says Review on it. Please? It would make my day. XD

Mimie: (Pops in randomly) It would make her very happyfaceded. (Dissappears again)

Me: ...?

Unknown Soldier by Breaking Benjamin

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	21. Halloween Fun Time in Karakura

Me: I know it's a day late, but I blame my parents for that and for having to go trick or treating. Let's get this show on the road.

Shiva: This is a special chapter for the Halloween time of the year.

Me: I worked all night and most of the day after for this.

Shiva: She really did. She was dog tired at school for it too.

Me: (Mumbles sleepily) Stupid...math class.

Shiva: Well we hope you enjoy the special holloween chapter.

Me: You'll see. This is just a random chapter, read it if you want to.~ (Still a little loopy)

Shiva: She owns nothing.

**Chapter 21: Halloween Fun Time in Karakura.**

Dominique's POV

I was walking down the street towards Ichigo's house when I relized something; Halloween was in two days. Not only was it the anniversery of me first getting my powers, but it was a kick ass holiday.

From a poster that I had seen mentioned that the high school was hosting a costume party. I quickly started running to Ichigo's house. I barged in the door and narrowly missed Isshin being thrown out of it. I saw Ichigo huffing, still standing in a pitching position that he must have used to throw his father out of the house.

"Nice throw, but anyways, need to talk to you, now"! I quickly said as I grabbed his collar and dragged him up the stairs. He struggled all the way up, trying to get his balance back, though it didn't do anything.

"What the heck's going on Dominique"? He asked exasperatedly as I released him from my death grip. I turned to look at him.

"Cause Halloween is only two days away! Plus our school is having a costume party, I wanna go since this is my first Halloween in Karakura Town". I said. He was speechless for a moment.

"Halloween? You mean you want to dress up in some ridiculous costume and go around trick or treating"? I groaned.

"No, no, no, no! I don't wanna go trick or treating; even if all the free chocolate and other candy is pretty damn good". I mumbled that last part to myself before continuing my explination, "I want to go to the party and have a short break from training to act like a normal teenager for once. Even shadow shinigami need a break once in a while you know". I explained. He stood there and scratched the back of his head.

"Do I have to wear a stupid costume"? He asked wearily. I giggled.

"No. You can dress how you want". I said with a grin. He looked off to the side before speaking.

"If you really want to, then I guess I'm in". He said with a warm smile at me.

"YAY"! I burst out happily as I hugged his waist. That was when Isshin barged through the door; feet first. The thing was, I was directly in his path.

I ducked down and reached up swiftly to grab his legs. I then used his momentum to swing him around, and let him loose the way he came. He hit the wall and slid down to the floor. I'm sorry, but no one shall interrupt me when I'm happy, even him. He looked up at me with a sly grin on his face. I got a quick glance at Ichigo and saw that he was doubled over laughing.

"Waoh". Isshin said with a moan. I giggled.

"Mr. Kurosaki, you should really watch where you're going. One of these day's you're going to do that and end up breaking your neck". I said lightly. Ichigo cracked up even harder.

"I was just coming up here to make sure my son wasn't doing anything unwholesome with my third daughter". He said this as he grabbed both my hands in his. I contemplated breaking a couple of his fingers as I blushed at the statement.

"You perv! Get the hell out of my room"! Ichigo yelled as he flying kicked his dad down the stairs. He came back up and shut the door.

"I swear. Your dad is quite funny though". I said as I shook my head in humor at his antics. He sighed.

"He's such an idiot". I giggled.

"I had been thinking about breaking a couple of his fingers, just before you kicked him. It was a good thing you kicked him out when you did". He chuckled at that.

"So what do you have in mind for your costume"? He asked as he sat down on his bed. I sat down beside him.

"I don't know. I'll go to the store today to see if they have anything good, but first, I want to see if Emma, and the others want to get into it". He nodded.

"Yeah. I don't know what the hell I'll go as". I thought about it for a minute before an idea came to me.

"Oh, I know"! He looked at me questoningly.

"What"? He asked. I shook my head mischeviously.

"Nope, not telling. I know the perfect costume for you. I'll be over tomorrow to show it to you. Love you, bye"! I said as I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran out the door, leaving him open mouthed and blushing. I ran down the stairs and out the door before anyone saw me. I was running towards Orihime's appartment where Toshiro and Rangiku were staying.

I quickly ran up to where her door was and knocked. Toshiro opened the door.

"What is it"? I was about to ask where Orihime was when I got smothered in a hug from Rangiku.

_'Get this big boobed psyco off of me'! _ I thought desperately. She finally let go and I fell to the ground, gasping for much needed air.

"Where-gasp-is Orihime-gasp"? I asked between breaths. I looked up at Toshiro, he had a smirk on his face that clearly said, "So now you know what I have to deal with, while mine clearly said, "Fuck off".

"Dominique"? I heard Orihime's voice come from behind Rangiku.

"Down here, and barely alive". I said after I had caught my breath again. I gave Rangiku a glare and walked into Orihime's appartment. Rukia and Ichigo's sister; Nami happened to be sitting by her drinking tea. Or at least I think it was tea, cause it had a strange smell to it that made my nose itch. There were also two other cups that must belong to Toshiro and Rangiku.

"Hey Dominique". Both Nami and Rukia said together.

"Come sit down. Do you want some of my special red bean paste and wasabi tea"? She asked. I internally cringed.

_'How in the hell can that chick eat and drink the stuff she does. I swear she's scarier than Usoratih sometimes'._ Shiva then butted in.

_'In a totally different way than how she scares us though'._ (Explination at the end of the chapter) I agreed with her on that one.

_'Totally'._ I kept my composure though.

"No thank you Orihime. Though I do want to ask you all something though. Halloween is in two days and there's going to be a party at the Karakura High School. I was thinking that we should all go". Orihime and Nami were both clapping excitedly.

"Yes that's a wonderful idea Dominique! I say yes"! Orihime said enthusiastically.

"Same here"! Nami chimed in.

"Well I guess I'll join in the festivities too if they will". Rukia said.

"Oooo, Captain! We should do it too! Don't you agree? I've heard about this holiday while I was out shopping a few days ago. You dress up as a monster, or cute animal, or really whatever you want and go out to go to other people's houses and they give you free sweets"! I sweat dropped.

"Um, Rangiku? Only kids normaly go trick or treating. Teens and adults usually go to parties. That's what we're doing". She beamed at me.

"Well that's sure to be fun too! Come on Captain, we should join in". She whined to Toshiro.

"No". He said. She pouted.

"Come oooonnnnn. It's only for one night, please"? She begged. She was hugging him and bothering him...until he exploded.

"FINE! I'LL DO IT ALRIGHT. JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE"! He yelled as he stomped off into another room. Rangiku looked proud of herself.

"Okaaaay. So umm, I'll be by tomorrow. If you can go ahead and get your costumes tonight or tomorrow. Cause we're going to be pretty busy when Halloween arives". I said with a grin. I stood up and left to head over to my house. I found Shuan playing Ronnie in Left 4 Dead 2. Emma and Claire were teaching Luna and Nami how to play Wii sports. Shuan was the first one to notice me.

"What's up doc". He said the Buggs Bunny line to me. I sweat dropped before answering with a smirk.

"Hey guys, I need everyone to pause their games a minute". After that I explained the same thing that I had done at Orihime's house. Each of them agreed and Claire even agreed to come with me to the costume store to go shopping. Even though I personally hated clothes shopping, Halloween costume shopping was another thing entirely. I just loved all the scary, gorey, coolness that was this holiday.

We went to the mall to go shopping. I had to drag Claire away from the normal clothes stores, cause every time she sees pink she goes after it like a puppy after a new ball. After a while and a couple phone calls later we had everyone from my house costumes and I had Ichigo's in tow as well. We also had the ton of body makeup that we would need. Even on Halloween, I still hated the stuff. I was thankfull for the fact that my costume that Claire had found for me at least didn't require alot of makeup.

Claire found, in her opinion, the perfect costume for me. I had said no to it, but she had already bought it and left the store before I could do anything. I ended up chasing her around the mall for getting me something so revealing. She knew I hated stuff like that!

After four hours, two of them were used for what was left of my patience, and two hundred freaking dollars later; we finally left the mall with huge bags full of stuff. I was thankfull, once again, for my section thirteen leader paycheck that I get every week. After we got back to the house everyone started looking at thier costumes. I grabbed mine and Ichigo's and headed up to my room to get some shut-eye. I would need all the sleep I could get for tomorrow's business.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The next day was spent trying to find costumes for Toshiro, Rangiku, Nami, and Rukia. Orihime hadn't been a problem at all. She found what she wanted within the first ten minutes while the others took longer. The rest of the day was spent getting everything tailored to everyone so everything would go smoothly tonight. Ichigo was happy with my choice on his costume.

He was really just happy that it wasn't something embarassing like a giant strawberry or something similar. I grew to like my costume as well much more thankfull that I didn't have to wear a lot of makeup with it. There weren't even any random hollows popping up randomly so everything was going great. Tonight was going to be fun.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Okay guys. You ready"? I called. Nami and several others gave and enthusiastic yeah, but some, not so much. Everyone had thier costumes on and we were ready to go.

Ichigo's sister Nami was dressed as and angel in a short white dress with fake little wings on the back and a halo resting on her head. Rukia was a pink devil with a similarlly short dress and a devel staff and short, pink, bat wings on the back. Orihime was a white bunny, she looked like she belonged in the PB Mansion what with the short, white, and fuzzy top, shorts, paws, and booties (Shoes people!).

I do not know why those particular costumes were the way they were. Oh yeah, teenage costumes were supposed to be more revealing cause most normal human teens are obsessed with looks and getting into trouble.

Somehow Uryu got dragged from his training, along with Renji and Chad who were now also dressed up like us. If they wanna blame anyone it should be Urahara. Chad was a wrestler, Mexican of course. Uryu was a vampire, Dracula, hehe, and Renji was a mummy. It was hilarious if I do say so myself.

Next Toshiro was a silver werewolf. He was so cute and fuzzy with his ears cause of his shortness. Rangiku was an orange and black witch, truly frightening. I swear that if she had any less fabric, she'd be nude. Shuan was dressed up as a black werewolf, similarly to Toshiro. Emma was dressed as a white mountain lion. They were showing off for eachother.

Claire was dressed as Cleopatra, with all the gems and makeup and other things. Ronnie was dressed as Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Carribean. Luna was dressed as L from Death Note and Nami was dressed as Light from Death Note as well. They grew to like the show while staying here in the World of the Living.

Ichigo was dressed as Frenkenstein, but not like big, or grotesque, or anything like that. Torn, old pants held up by a belt, body makeup that made him look like parts of him were gray and sewn on, and bolts on his neck and shoulders. To sum it all up; hot. I was practcally drooling, even though I did my best to keep it from showing. I was dressed up as a black cat. Not just any cat though, Cat Woman. The modern one with Halli Berry or something like that.

I so didn't want to cut my hair though, so I tied it back in a loose knot so it wouldn't get in the way of the costume. Even if this costume was revealing as hell, I wore it. I blame Claire!

OoOoOoOoOoOo

We were now walking down the street to the school in our costumes. I could hear Emma and Claire snickering behind me with thier boyfriends. Since this costume didn't have the actuall diamond claws from the movie, I couldn't scratch the smirks right off their faces. So I settled for a round house kick. I wasn't really serious and so they all dodged.

"Shut up". I ordered.

"But why. We all know how much you hate that costume so haha"! Emma laughed. I growled, but Ichigo stepped in and wrapped an arm around my waist, turning me around and continued walking towards the school.

"Come on". He said. I followed alongside him and soon forgot about my embarasment. Heck Ichigo was naked from the waist up so why in the hell was I complaining?

_'Cause you're a wuss'?_ Shiva suggested.

_'Call me a wuss again and you are so getting no time with Hichigo. You dig"? _ I snapped back. She shut up about it after that. Soon we got to the school and were ushered inside to one of the courtyards, which had been totally tricked out for the holiday.

"Nice". I heard someone say. Each of us split up and went to go do what we wanted to do. This time, when I grabbed the soda from the table, I smelled it carefully for alcohol. I wouldn't put it past Urahara to spike a school's party drinks with alcohol. Thankfully there was no scent in it, but I still didn't trust it. I decided to play it safe and grab two of the closed cans on the table.

I then headed over to Ichigo and gave him one. Soon after we finished our drinks I dragged him around to play a couple games and to dance. We met up with Keigo, Mizurio, Tatsuki, and unfortunately Chizuru. Chizuru, dressed as a bean, (Wierd) was going after Orihime, again. Tatsuki, dressed as a karate master, kicked her, again.

Still Chizuru got up, no surprise there. I decided that it was time for a bit of and intervention. I walked in front of the advancing chick with my arms crossed over my chest.

"Hey. Don't you see that the girl's strait? I mean it's not that hard to tell. Stop shoving yourself on her, or perhaps you would like more than one person to kick your ass when you go after Orihime"? I asked with an evil smile on my face. I pulled up my hand and showed my fake claws of my costume.

"Who the hell are you"? She asked rudely. I shook my head and moved my Cat Woman mask up to show my face.

"Dominique, duh". I said off handedly. That was when I felt something go through the air; reiatsu. I turned to look around and saw that there were at least a dozen hollows, if not more heading this way. I aslo felt the presensces of several dozen others around the town.

"Dominique"! Ichigo said as his substitute pass was going off like crazy.

"Dammit. I knew this was coming. It's always something isn't it"? I swallowed Tsumi and gave her quick instructions to go get the others' soul candies and return here as fast as she could. I then took off into the sky with Ichigo right behind me. He'd thankfully brought Kon along.

Thankfully most of the hollows were of lower levels. What surprised me though was the fact there was no scent of hollow bait in the air. The only traces that would even be left were of Uryu's, and that was set off months ago.

"Dammit"! I said again as I slashed three more hollows. Of course. With all the kids, teens, and adults out and moving around, it's just a fucking buffet for hollows. The thing is though that the extra reiatsu of several soul reapers isn't really helping either. In fact it wouldn't have been like this probably, if only there hadn't been so many soul reapers and shadow shinigami in town.

Both Ichigo and I were taking out hollows left, right, and center. Uryu, Chad, and Orihime had joined the fight as well. Soon though, Claire, Emma, and all the others were up and spread out to take out the multiplying hollows. Thankfully though, after about twently minutes, all of the hollows were gone.

No one got hurt, but several were mad that thier fun at the party had been interrupted. As we headed back to the party we saw that our mod souls had decided to party on for us. Tsumi and Kon were dancing together, the same as the other people. I blushed. Emma's mod soul, Rinna, had taken over the sound system and was playing club music, while Shuan's mod soul, Lo, was acting as the DJ.

The two who had been in charge before were partying on the dance floor now as well. Emma and Shuan ran down and got back in thier bodies. Though they kept doing what their mod souls had started. I facepalmed myself. Ichigo looked at me sympithetically.

"Come on, lets get back before our mod soul do anything to get us in trouble". Ichigo said with a laugh.

"Fine. Let's go". I agreed as we shunpoed down and returned to our bodies. We soon walked off the dance floor. Keigo tried to stop us, but as someone who is dressed as a puppy, I just laughed and brushed him off. Mizurio was dressed in a purple suit, three guesses says he's a pimp. (Player in a manegment profession=pimp. XD Thank you Jeff Dunham and Sweeet Daddy-Dee.)

We watched as Rangiku made Toshiro go bobbing for apples while captains Luna and Nami were talking with the students. Ichigo's sister was playing games with Claire and Ronnie. Orihime, Chad, and Uryu were talking while Emma and Shuan were still DJ'ing. Ichigo and I decided to slip away for a short while.

We walked down to another courtyard filled with students. This one however was covered; it was the haunted house part of the party. Ichigo and I went inside. Most of everything was unberably fake and pathetic. One dude, dressed as Freddy tried to scare me by coming up behind me and putting his clawed hand on my shoulder. I turned back to him, grinning like a fool.

"Hey. That's not going to work on me. How about you try that couple up in front of us"? I suggested. I had seen that they jumped at almost all the little fright things and sure enough, when old Freddy got up there to them, they screamed and ran out of the haunted house like bats out of hell. I fell to my knees, laughing so hard that my sides hurt. Ichigo was laughing out loud at my side.

Soon after that, we left and hung out around the school. We then heard a howl rip through the air. I recognized it as Emma's howl. I growled. She was going to get in so much trouble if she showed herself in her wolf form to the humans. I rounded the corner with Ichigo to see Emma in her human form still. The little weasle. She changed her vocal cords to howl just to worry me. She caught my eye and winked before howling again.

"Emma. I swear". I said as I stalked off. Ichigo was laughing. I shot a glare at him and he shut up, with a grin still on his face. I sighed. After that we left the school and started walking down the street. We watched as kids and adults alike went trick or treating. I kept looking at Ichigo. Even as a moster...hot.

_'Such a shame that Hichigo ain't out here. We would fit right in'._ I thought about that for a minute.

_'You know what? You're right'._ I agreed. I turned to Ichigo. I left my body for a short moment, I'd have to get those items out in order for this to work..

"Seperation tactic 2". I said as I pointed to Ichigo. He jerked and then Hichigo appeared beside him. Then Shiva materialized beside me on her own. I then searched my shihakusho pockets until I found what I was looking for.

"What are you doing Dominique"? Ichigo asked. Hichigo even looked confused.

"Ha! Found it"! I said as I pulled two bracelets from my pocket. They were the reverse items of my special invisibility bracelets. While the others keep you invisible to all, but the ones who are also wearing the bracelets, these made you visible to humans. This came in handy when you needed to scare someone into their place.

"Sweet". Shiva said, already up with my plan. She grabbed one of the bracelets and put it on. To me she didn't change, but now she would be seen by all.

"What is that bracelet for"? Ichigo asked. I grinned.

"We can put this on our hollows and they'll become visible to humans". I explained as I attached the bracelet to Hichigo's wrist. Thankfully, we'd been down a street without any people on it. I quickly got back into my body and continued walking with Ichigo. We headed towards a crowded place that was in a full swing party. A kid came up to us. She looked to be around twelve years old, she was wearing a Yuki Ona costume.

"Wow, so cool! What kind of contacs are those? I so want some"! She said as she looked at Shiva's and Hichigo's eyes. Shiva grinned.

"Sorry kid. Custom made for him and me only". Shiva said with a smirk. The kid pouted.

"Oh well. It's still cool though. So's your costume too. The swords rock". Then the kid ran off to join a group of her friends who looked at us and talked excitedly to one another.

"Fun huh"? I asked Ichigo as I smirked at him. He grinned.

"Yeah". That was when I got an idea.

"Hey, lets go crash the school party with these two". I suggested as I pointed to the two hollows beside us. Shiva jumped up and Hichigo gave an evil grin.

"Yes"! Hichigo and Shiva said simultaneously.

"Lets go then". Ichigo agreed. We walked towards the school. We got stopped by this one girl though. (This happens to be Mimie. Yes, I know it's early, but she begged me to do this.) She was wearing a clothes rack, the kind you see in Walmart all the time, that actually had clothes hung on it.

"Fudge"! Then she ran off, laughing.

"Well that was completely random". I said as I sweat dropped. The others nodded silently in agreement. Eventually we got to the school. We were surrounded by students. Shiva and Hichigo were getting questioned about how they looked like Ichigo and I. They were asked what school they were from. Shiva masterfully skipped around the questions. Hichigo...not so much.

After a while the crowds dispersed. Shiva was cutting up with Emma and Shuan. Hichigo was showing off his sword. Someone asked if it was real. Crap.

"Well touch it and find out". Hichigo suggested evily. I groaned. The student touched it and looked amazed.

"Wow, that thing looks wickid sharp, but it doesn't cut"? He asked. Hichigo laughed.

"One of a kind, wait, two of a kind". He said as he looked at Shiva with a rare kind smile. She caught his eye and waved for him to join her. He grinned and walked quickly over to her, sheathing his blade. I giggled. Ichigo and I played games and cut up with everyone. By the end of the night we were all exausted. We all trecked back home. Shiva and Hichigo returned to our minds and I put the bracelets in a pouch of my costume as I headed to my house with Ichigo beside me.

"Sleep". I mumbled as we walked through the door. Nami and Luna went to each of thier own rooms. Claire and Ronnie went upstairs to thier's, the same thing that Shuan and Emma did. Ichigo came up to my room. For the next couple of hours people took turns taking showers and got dressed in normal clothes again.

I jumped onto my bed beside Ichigo after I got my shower, happy to be in a pair of nomal pj's again. Ichigo had already taken his shower and was lounging on the bed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He was looking at me intently.

"What"? I asked. He grinned.

"Oh, nothing really". I was tired, but I was able to hear a hint of playfulness in his voice. He reached for me and pulled me up onto his chest. Instantly I knew what was going on. He went to kiss me, but I had to make sure of something first.

"Wait. Kage Bakudo number 87: Tomari Kumo (Night Cloud)". I said as a cloud of darkness rushed from my hands and surrounded the inside of the room before turning transparent and returning to normal.

"What was that"? Ichigo asked.

"A kido that blocks sound, but doubles as a barrier to keep people out. So we won't be heard". He grinned.

"I see". He said as he pulled me forward for a kiss.

OoOoOoOoOoOo(Bobbing for lemons on Halloween) XD

What a great first halloween in Karakura town. Random fun, crazyness, and other things...hahahahaha!

Me: DONE! That was a record time! It only took me six hours to write that!

Shiva: A new record.

Me: YES!

Shiva: Well the next chapter shall be the normal story.

Me: Usoratih explination time!

Shiva: Yes.

Me: Usoratih is Sero's zanpakuto, the opposite of Rose's zanpakuto Hitarosu. While Hitarosu has a plesant manner of being, Usoratih...not so much. She is queen of pervs.

Shiva: Which means Usoratih in heat = DON'T GO ANYWHERE NEAR HER OR YOU WILL DIIIIIIEEEEEE!

Me: What she said.

Shiva: Girls, lock your doors and keep your boys close.

Me: If you don't, they will get raped...if they're good looking that is.

Shiva: True.

Me: Now, REVIEWS! I WORKED HARD ON THIS AND IN ONLY SIX HOURS!

Shiva: Yes please review.

Me: 3...2...1...REVIEW!

_**Happy Halloween to all my fanfiction friends!**_

American Werewolves in London by Fang Bang 13

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	22. The Vizards

Me: Finally time to get to the hollification training.

Mimie: (Pops in again) YO! Can I do the disclaimer?

Me: NO!

Mimie: Fine, but beware of my fudgians...(Dissapears)

Me and Shiva: ...(Sweat drop)

Me: Fudgians? ...Oh well, let's get onto the story.

Shiva: This is gonna be good.

Me: I own nothing, but I'm working on a novel, a real one.

Shiva: It will be a trilogy(sp?). It is her original idea that came to her.

Me: Yep. While me and my family were coming back from a trip. Gotta love day dreams and the random thoughts that they give you. :D

**Chapter 22: The Vizards**

Dominique's POV

I entered my inner world for the first time in what felt like an eternity. At first I didn't move, I didn't even open my eyes, I just let the wind blow around me and fill my senses with the familiar landscape of the cool mountain forest that was my inner world. I noticed a rumbling sound and walked towards it, with my hands relaxed in my hakama pockets.

I came face to face with the river and the waterfall where I had endured my bankai training. I had trained for ten strait days in that cave, meditating and focusing all my power, while Shiva took care of my body in the World of the Living. When I emerged, I came out wearing my bankai coat and holding my Tensa Zangetsu.

I had been the only shadow shinigami in history that couldn't call my zanpakuto spirit out into the real world, or even talk with it. I had never been picked on for it though, cause the other students knew that even though I couldn't speak to my zanpakuto, I could still use it to kick almost anyone's ass. Not to mention Rose had been my mentor at the time so nobody really bothered me.

At that time, during the training, it had been the closest I had ever come to actually speaking with Zangestu before I'd met Ichigo. When I made the short few seconds of contact, I felt pride and a little bit of irritation, the kind that you feel when you wake up in the morning and just don't wanna get out of bed, but your mom keeps barging in and nagging you.

That all seemed so far away now, especially with all that's happened in the past few months. I never knew that my life would end up like this. Even though we're in the middle of a war, I wouldn't change anything about my life right now.

Shiva appeared beside me after jumping from a tree, but she wasn't alone. Zangetsu materialized beside her, tall, dark, and silent as usual. I grinned to myself.

"Yo, wazup"? I said lamely. Shiva giggled.

"You know that tomorrow we absolutely have to get to Ichigo's training. We're running out of time". I nodded at her.

"I know". Zangetsu continued to stay silent.

"We'll need a good, open space to train him in. It would be bad to train him in the park. What with all the extra soul reapers nearby". She said thoughtfully, her arms crossed. I nodded again and thought for a moment.

"I know where we'll train him". I said with a smirk. Shiva picked right up on it and grinned herself.

"And where my I ask, are we going to go"? She said suggestively.

"To the place where we can practically be ourselves. We're going to the vizards. Anyhow, I wanted to get my chance to kick Shinji's ass before the major action starts anyway. I wanna see if he's gotten better over the years". At that Zangetsu let out a small chuckle. I turned to him. "Sooo, wha'cha need Zangetsu"? I asked.

"While Ichigo is training with Hichigo, I think I'll stay here". I thought about why for a moment and then shrugged.

"Well if that's what you want then fine by me". Shiva shrugged and nodded too. She was most likely thinking about the up coming training. This was the first time we actually had our own personal trainee so we were going to go through the way Rose taught us. Every single last torturous lesson. This was gonna be fun.

Ichigo's POV

After Dominique had healed me and the others were healed by Orihime and Emma I went back to my house. Dominique had told me to make sure I get up early tomorrow and come to her house. After I fell asleep, I was dragged into my inner world.

I opened my eyes and saw the sideways buildings that made up this place. I looked around and saw Hichigo sitting on the edge of one of the buildings. I didn't see Zangetsu anywhere. I shunpoed across the building to where Hichigo was. I sat down beside him and he sighed.

"If you're wondering where Zangetsu is then your answer is that he went to Dominique's inner world". He said with a bored expression on his face. I had never seen him like this. It was seriously freaking me out even worse than when I first met him while fighting Kenpachi. I raised an eye brow in confusion.

"What's up with you? What's got you down in the dumps"? I asked. He grumbled under his breath, but then he answered with another sigh.

"I'm bored as hell, cause just when we were just about to rip that guy, Grimmjow limb from limb, that bastard Tosen had to come, and interrupted our fight. And just when things were about to get good too". He said sullenly. I actually had to agree with him on that. If Tosen hadn't stopped Grimmjow we would have beaten him. I had almost completed the link.

"I couldn't agree with you more. That's why we need to get stronger. That's why Dominique is training us". He nodded. Then a dark smirk crossed his face.

"Hey, why don't we have a sparring session huh? Get some training in before the real stuff starts". I thought about it for a moment. Then I grinned myself.

"Sure, why not? Remember I still have to get some sleep though, or we won't be worth shit for training tomorrow". He rolled his yellow/black eyes.

"Sure, sure, whatever". He grinned as he got into a fighting stance. He drew his Zangetsu. It was the complete opposite of mine, white with a black blade, just like Shiva's. I drew my Zangetsu as well and stood at the ready. He charged directly at me, but instead of using his blade as his first strike he tried to grab me with his hand.

I back flipped and kicked his hand away in the process. Something I learned from Dominique. I then charged at him with my sword held towards the left. I aimed at his right flank, but he blocked hit with his own sword. He then bounded backwards and started twirling his Zangetsu in the air by the hilt wrap. I stopped for a minute.

_'I haven't used that move since that day on Sokyoku Hill'._ I thought as I mimicked his move. I was the first to throw my sword, but he swung his blade and blocked my strike in midair. An idea popped into my head and I acted on it. I sent my reiatsu down the hilt wrap and I charged up a Getsugatensho while my blade was still extended.

It was right by Hichigo.

"Getsugatensho". I called out as the blast erupted from the blade and caused a huge explosion to fill the area. I pulled the hilt wrap and brought my Zangetsu back into my right hand. I heard clapping right behind me. I immediately thought that it was Hichigo, he must have used sonido to get behind me and ambush me from behind. I twisted around and got back into a fighting stance.

When I turned, I saw Dominique and Shiva there clapping. Zangetsu was standing a little behind them with a smile on his face. I heard coughing and looked back at where I'd blasted the Getsugatensho to see Hichigo walking forward. His shihakusho top was torn to shreds and he was burnt in several places, but otherwise unharmed.

"What were you tryin' to do, kill me"? He asked in a sarcastic tone. Dominique and Shiva laughed.

"I'm glad you thought of that move on your own. We won't even need to teach it to ya now". Shiva said. Huh? So they already knew this move, dang it.

"That was definitely a good first try. You simply thought of doing that out of the blue. I'm impressed". Dominique said with pride in her voice.

"Why ain't anyone asking if I'm alright"? Hichigo whined. Then suddenly Shiva was leaning against him with her arms wrapped around his shoulders. She was looking him up and down with a smirk on her face.

"Oh poor baby. Come with me and I'll make you feel better". She said seductively as she moved her arms to wrap them around his neck. Dominique was watching them walk away with a blush on her face.

"Hey! None of that in here! Ichigo needs to sleep so keep it down"! She called sternly with a tick mark on her head. That was when I knew what they were most likely going to do. My face heated up at the thought. Even Zangetsu was looking away, his eyes hidden by his dark sunglasses. Dominique continued to stand there with her hands on her hips in irritation and a deep blush on her face.

Then she sighed as she looked at me. Her expression softened.

"You need to go on ahead and get some sleep, k"? She said to me. I nodded.

"I'm curious. How did you make a mind link when you were at your house"? I asked. She pointed to Zangetsu with her thumb, who was still looking absently away.

"Since he had access to both our inner worlds, all I have to do is follow him, and I can come to your inner world at anytime. So I guess the same goes for you for my inner world". She said with her index finger touching her chin in thought. Then she looked back at me, "Well, I need to get going. Tomorrow we start your serious training, so be up at the crack of dawn". She grinned just before Zangetsu walked back to where she was.

"WAITS FOR ME"! Shiva yelled as she came bounding back to us. Her hair was messy and she was giggling. When she stopped in front of Dominique, she hit her hollow up side her head and said something in English that I didn't understand since I wasn't wearing the translator wristband. She just continued to giggle as Dominique sighed in defeat.

_'Three guesses on what those two were doing'._ I thought as I sweat dropped. Zangetsu's outfit billowed and swallowed both Shiva and Dominique, just like what he had did when he took me into my inner world during my fight with Kenpachi. Hichigo had gotten himself a new shihakusho top and was leaning casually against a building. He was actually whistling. As I walked past him, he went to speak up.

"Don't wanna know the details so zip it". I snapped. He laughed.

"We didn't actually do anything so chill. We were just making out. Is that so different than what you and Dominique do"? He said with a smirk. I blushed.

_'Damn him'._ I thought.

"Oh and she healed the burns on my chest from your Getsugatensho". He shrugged as he pointed accusingly at me. I sighed and waved back over my shoulder as I stepped from the side of the building. I fell into the darkness, and the next thing I knew was, that I was lying in my bed. I checked the time and saw that it was already midnight.

_'Great'._ I only had six hours left until sunrise so I might as well get some shut eye. I leaned back and fell into a dreamless sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I woke up at a little past six. I looked inward and saw that Hichigo was still knocked out. Well, at least my luck was holding out, so I might as well get dressed. Thank goodness none of my family had woken up yet today otherwise I'd have my dad to deal with or worse Yuzu. I dressed in a simple shirt and pants with a coat to go over the shirt cause it was starting to get cooler. I tucked my wallet in my back pocket just before I walked out the door. I walked towards Dominique's house.

When I got there, she was leaning against the wall of her house. She was wearing flip flops, a pair of loose skater jeans, and a silver tank top with black arm warmers that had holes in the front to put her thumbs through. Personally, I did not see how she could wear that in this weather.

Her hair was tied back in a loose braid and she was listening to her MP3. She had a small smile on her face and was bobbing her head to whatever music she was listening to. When I approached her she opened her eyes and grinned at me.

"Bout time Ichigo. Now, let's go". She started walking down the street. I easily caught back up with her.

"Where are we going"? I asked curiously.

"We're going to the vizards. They have a place where we can train". I was confused.

"Why not Urahara's shop"? I asked.

"Cause I happen to know that Urahara's shop is being used for someone else to train. Oh and the vizards can help you out too,...in their own way". She said with a giggle.

"You just wanna have your match against Shinji huh"? I smirked as I remembered her not so subtle threat to Shinji. She grinned evilly.

"Yep". She laughed. I know I don't like Shinji all that much, but now I almost feel sorry for what's coming for him. Almost.

_'Make sure I get to watch, so get a good view of that fight'._ Hichigo piped up for the first time that morning. I had to agree with him. When she goes after Shinji, I wanted to get a front row seat. We continued to walk towards the industrial part of town. I also noticed that there was a good amount of reiatsu gathered in one spot.

"There were originally only a few vizards. Most of them were shadow shinigami who's hollows rejected them or they rejected the hollows. The ones who we're going to check out are the only soul reaper changed vizards; there are eight of them. They became the leaders of the vizard squads about 80 years ago". She said as we approached the hide out. I looked down at Dominique and noticed that she was cloaking her reiatsu completely.

"What are you up to"? I looked down at her with a smirk on my face.

"I wanna surprise them. The whole original group is there, so I'm gonna have some fun. You're gonna show up there 'alone' and they are gonna go on and on about how you wanna join them. You're gonna tell them that all you want is for them to teach you how to control your hollow. If Shinji don't listen, start a fight with him then we'll see how it goes from there. Oh, and the dialogue of this little act is up to you, so have fun with it". She said just before she ran to the side of a large warehouse.

She motioned for me to walk towards the same warehouse that had its main door open. I could tell that they were in there. Eight of them. I could actually see how it would happen, how Shinji would act and my own reaction. Dominique's personality was rubbing off on me. This was sure to be interesting. I got ready and set my face to a serious scowl.

Dominique's POV

I stood at the side of the warehouse as Ichigo slowly walked in with a scowl on his face. His face looked so serious, what with his constant scowl, it was perfect. I made sure to keep my reiatsu completely hidden as I left my body. Shiva took control of it and made sure to hide her energy as well. I jumped up on the wall and literally ran vertically up towards the window of the warehouse. I made sure not to use any of my power to do so.

I was just about to fall back towards the ground when I grabbed onto the ledge of the window with my left hand. I hung there for a minute and then swung up onto the windowsill. I was in luck, the window was open so I could see and hear everything, but I was out of sight of the vizards. Ichigo was facing me when he looked up at the vizards who had gathered on the hollowed out levels of the warehouse.

His eyes narrowed just a tiny bit and I grinned while giving him the thumbs up. Shinji was of course the one to move forward and speak first.

"It looks like you finally decided to join us. Isn't that right, Ichigo? It seems that Dominique wasn't doing her job all that well". That sort of pissed me off, but I easily ignored it. Shinji smiled his weird smile, Ichigo had his head down. He then lifted his head with an arrogant look on his face.

"Bite me". Ichigo said.

"WHA-"? Shinji stepped back in surprise. I snickered under my breath.

"I didn't come here to join you guys. I'm here to use you Shinji". Ichigo said with a smirk, not even saying anything to his comment on me. Shinji, by now had regained his composure, and was looking coolly down at Ichigo. I quickly looked back and saw Shiva run up the side of the building in my body. She lost traction a bit too far away from the window though. I quickly reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Nice Shiva". I whispered sarcastically as I hoisted her up, we both turned to scene unfolding. She was looking down at the group with humor in her eyes, just like mine.

"I want you to teach me to control the hollow inside me". Ichigo's smirk turned cocky.

_'This is even better than I expected'._ He was acting perfectly. Who knew he had such acting skills.

"You think that you can just walk in here and make demands? We're not telling you squat". He said stubbornly. This was Ichigo's cue to start the fight.

"We'll then I guess I'll beat it out of you". He said with an evil smirk on his face.

"And just how are you going to do that"? Shinji asked. Ichigo reached into his back pocket, pulled out his substitute badge, and left his body as he rushed forward. Shinji tapped his foot down and caused his zanpakuto that was laying on the ground to whirl up in the air. He caught it and charged at Ichigo.

They both clashed in midair and soon they were trading blows. I could see that Shinji was holding back, but so was Ichigo. The rest of the vizards had all moved to the ground level and were watching the fight. I could feel Hiyori's irritation growing after every second. The rest of the vizards were talking about how they thought that Ichigo was afraid of his inner hollow.

"What idiots". Shiva said quietly. I nodded.

"They are so oblivious". I murmured. Soon Hiyori couldn't wait anymore and she started walking forward.

"Impatient squirt". Shiva giggled. I giggled as well as she told Hachi to put up five more force fields. I knew she was about to tag Shinji out. Now it was time for the real fun to begin. What she didn't know was that I was going to tag in as well. I would have our match first. My match against Shinji would have to wait. After all, I wanted him to see some of my power before I fought him.

Hiyori did her trademark flip-flop slap, sending Shinji flying through the first force field, and out the window onto the street. Hachi hadn't been able to put up all five barriers in time.

"Ouch". Both me and Shiva said at the same time. At least they heal fast in their special gigais. Hiyori looked at Ichigo with a superior smirk on her face. She told Ichigo that he was wrong and in fact that it was up to them whether or not he joined them. She told him to hollowfy as she walked away.

He refused. She turned around slightly to glare at him.

"Like I said before, it's not your choice". Her mutated rhino mask appeared on her face and she grinned evilly at him. He had a mock surprised look on his face. She continued, "Well if you're too much of a chicken to hollowfy then I guess I'll beat it out of you". She copied his words from earlier. She moved her mask onto her face. She was about to shunpo right in front of him, but I moved faster.

"Seal shut the night sky, Zangetsu". I said as I sealed my blade into a normal katana in my right hand and my sheath placed in my obi sash. I quickly hollified and appeared in front of Ichigo using my fastest shunpo, to make it seem like I appeared from thin air. I blocked her hand with my own and made sure my mask was on my face.

"I don't think so Hiyori. You gotta get through me first". I said menacingly. I looked down at her now shorter-than-me form. She had picked on me for being short when I first came to train with them.

"Who the hell are you"? I snickered, just before I slashed at her with my Zangetsu. She was just able to block it, but then she went to strike back. Guttural snarls came from both of us as we traded blows.

"I'm hurt Hiyori. I though at least you would remember me. After all we tormented Shinji almost every day while I was with yall, training"! I snarled/laughed as I punched her into the ground. She landed in a heap and moaned. A half minute later she must have regained consciousness cause she moved into a sitting position. I moved to stand in front of her.

"Dominique"? She gasped as she was able to pick herself up on her feet. She clutched her chest. I giggled behind my mask while twirling my blade in my right hand.

_'I think I might have broke a few ribs with that last punch'._ I thought smugly at her pained gasping. I guess that was payback for breaking my arm in our first match all those years ago.

"Bingo". Her eyes looked confused. I removed my mask from my face.

"Why did you stop me from attacking him? And more importantly why in the hell did you attack me you dumbass"? She pointed from Ichigo to me and used her favorite word. Ichigo was standing behind me, smirking at Shinji who was now standing with the rest of the vizards, cleaning a bloody nose.

"Cause he's my boyfriend and my trainee. He's not a vizard, he's a shadow shinigami, oh and I've been wanting to do that for years". I motioned towards her battered body. Shinji looked up at me accusingly.

"You mean to tell me that this was all a set up"? He pointed angrily at me. Shiva dropped down from her ledge right behind Shinji.

"Yep". She said offhandedly while I was holding up my fingers in a victory sign, grinning like a baka. Her appearing out of nowhere trick almost made him shit a brick. The rest of the vizards were looking at Shiva in shock.

"As you all can see that is Shiva in my body. Since Shinji has apparently not told yall anything, I might as well explain things". I told them about my rise to section thirteen leader and my power increase. And how Rose assigned me and my section to Karakura. Oh, and her order to kick Shinji's and Hiyori's asses when I got the chance to.

By the time I was finished with that explanation, we'd all moved to where the vizards had several couches and chairs sprawled out in what was supposed to be a living area.

"So why are you here in the first place"? Kensei asked seriously. He and I had always gotten along, cause throughout the training I'd had here, I hadn't once complained, no matter how hard it was.

"I need a place to train Ichigo and I know that everywhere yall go you have some sort of underground training facility. I need to use it". They thought about it for a moment and then each of them nodded. I grinned, "Thanks". Shinji rolled his eyes.

"Don't mention it". I giggled. I looked at Kensei for a moment. That was when it hit me.

"Oh! Kensei"? He looked at me.

"What"? I grinned.

"Do you know of someone that goes by the name Shuehei Hisagi"? His eyes widened. Out of everyone here he was the only one to tell me what squad he'd been in before he'd been changed into a vizard. He had been in squad nine.

"Yes. From a long time ago. I saved him from a hollow once. Why"?

"Oh nothing, except that he's the lutenient of squad nine now, and the fact that he has the same 69 on his face as you do on your chest". His eyes widened. I then continued, "And squad nine also has another captain. Kaname Tosen had been the one before, but now there's a girl named Nami Kagamiran that's now captain since he defected with Aizen". I looked to the side at the very mention of Aizen's name, even though it was from my own mouth.

Just his name rose a bile of hate from my stomach. Ichigo put a hand on my shoulder and I looked up. His eyes had narrowed and it was obvious that he hated the man as much as I did. I also noticed that they looked away as well. So they knew about Aizen as well.

"Wait, how do you all know Aizen". I asked. Shinji grimaced.

"Because, he's the one who turned us into vizards in the first place".

Me: Well that's the start of the training.

Shiva: We'll get to the really good stuff in the next chapter.

Me: See ya later. Please review, they makes me happy. Oh Yeah!

Shiva: We've been sort of sad lately cause we haven't had many reviews at all.

Me: Oh wells. UNTILL THE NEXT CHAPTER!

Crush Crush Crush by Paramore

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	23. Path to Power

Me: Ohh! Now for the torture to begin!

Shiva: We don't own Bleach!

Mimie: HEY! I WANTED TO DO THAT! =o=

Me: Oh well. XD

**Chapter 23: Path to Power**

Ichigo's POV

I was shocked. Apparently the vizards had once been captains and lutenients of the 13 court guard squads. I wouldn't have believed it if Dominique hadn't told me what she knew about them. They'd only told Dominique a little bit of their past. Need to know stuff only. She didn't blame them, and neither did I, especially now that we knew it dealt with Aizen. I knew she wanted payback for what he did at Sokyoku Hill.

When we found out that Aizen was the one who made Shinji and the rest of the vizards into what they are now her eyes went silver and I had to put my hand firmly on her shoulder just to calm her down. It took her a moment, but she finally calmed down enough to where her eyes went back to blue. She wanted to find out more about what had happened, but Shinji shook his head seriously. Dominique simply nodded and asked if we could go on ahead to the training room.

After that Shinji led Dominique and I down a large staircase that was hidden under a concrete slab of a door. When we reached the end of the stairs, we were greeted by an underground training room that was strikingly similar to Urahara's place. I watched as the vizards went back up to the ground floor; leaving me alone with Dominique.

She still hadn't calmed down all the way. It was obvious by how she stood; shoulders ridged and her hands at her sides, balled into fist. Her eyes still a blueish gray.

"Dominique relax. I know you want to get back at Aizen for what he's done, but relax". I tried to soothe her by moving to her and holding her close to me. She sighed once as her body relaxed against mine. Her head resting on my chest.

"You're right Ichigo. There's no sense in getting myself stressed out by that asshole. I'll wait patiently for the moment when I decapitate him". She said with a shrug. I swear. Her voice was light and playful now, but I could feel the very true threat in the words. She looked up at me and smiled. I leaned forward and whispered against her ear.

"Put those thoughts out of your mind for now alright? Weren't you supposed to be training me"? I asked playfully as I lightly nipped her ear. She shuddered.

"Keep that up and there will be no training for you mister". She said as she disentangled her arms from mine and easily slipped away from my grasp. A playful smirk was on her face, a smirk found its way onto mine as well. I felt her reiatsu flare up, and then suddenly, she was thirty feet away from me with a mischievous grin on her face while mine fell into a shocked expression.

"How did you do that"? I asked. I mean she was still in her body and yet... She laughed at my utter confusion.

"I used shunpo". She said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No. How did you use shunpo while in your body". Her face got serious.

"I used my shadow to do it". She said mischevieously while her face remained serious.

_'Huh'?_ I was confused.

"Wait, your shadow"? I asked. Her reiatsu flared up again and suddenly she was less than three feet from me. She held out her arm.

"Look at the ground". She ordered. I did what she asked and looked at the shadow of her arm and hand on the rock floor. Her reiatsu flared again and the shadow began to move. At first, it just shimmered on the edges, but then it shot towards me in the blink of an eye, in the shape of one of her clawed hands. I instinctively jumped to the side. The shadow stopped right where I had been a second before, then slowly retracted back into the shape of Dominique's arm.

"What the hell"?

"Good work. That was good that you were able to dodge that so quickly, but I wasn't intending any sort of damage. This form of shadow casting is harmless, even if it takes up a large bit of reiatsu while in my body. It's really hard to do shunpo in my body, I still don't have enough control to do it very well yet. Only Tsumi can use shunpo while in my body easily because she was designed to do so". She said as her shadow shimmered before coming at me again.

I held still as her shadow met mine and then felt something similar to when we mind linked, but not as strong. It was like her mind was gently brushing against mine. It wasn't a bad feeling at all, in fact, it was kind of nice.

"You said this was called shadow casting. What's it for"? I asked as her shadow went back to her and she put her arm back at her side. As soon as her shadow seperated from mine, the link dissappeared.

"Everything". She said with a knowing smile. She then continued, "This is the basis of our powers. We're not called shadow shinigami for nothing you know. Our powers come from the shadows. They are what balances us. They make linking with our hollows possible. The world as many know it, is only good and evil, black and white, and all that stupid shit. We are the gray, the medium, the balancers. We are the ones who bring peace to the three beings that make up the three worlds".

"Soul reapers, hollows, and humans". I said. She grinned at me.

"Yes. However, of course, we can't always keep the peace. We must let some things progress on their own. We only interfere when necessary. This is why we are so much stronger than either of the three races alone, for we are a mix of all three. Born human, dormant dark hollow energy, then soul reaper energy to keep the hollow energy from devouring us. The shadow is the center, to balance the three so the soul doesn't destroy itself". She walked up to me and made me hold my arm out towards her. "Manipulate your shadow now". She moved her hands from mine and stood beside me quietly.

I really had no clue how to do it, but like Dominique had said, my power was based on my instincts. I closed my eyes and focused, I waited a moment then I opened my eyes and looked down at the ground.

"It moved...a little". Dominique said with a sweat drop. "You're on the right track, but you need to learn to control your reiatsu". I nodded and pulled my arm back to my side.

"Alright". I said calmly.

"First I want you to hide your energy like me". She said as her energy practically fell from the face of the Earth. Even though I couldn't feel her energy I could easily sense her presensce though. I tried to do it too ,but it took ten strait minutes before I could cloak my energy. I knew I had done it when Dominique smiled proudly at me.

It went like that for a while. We would try different ways of manipulating my reiatsu. By the end of the day I was able to move my shadow pretty well. It was nowhere near as fast and as accurate as Dominique's was, but it was getting there. We even got in some combat training too. She was an excellent teacher, even compensating for the embarrassment that she dished out to me on a regular basis. All of this training and I hadn't even left my body yet. I would have continued to practice if she hadn't stopped me.

"Why do we have to stop now"? I asked, I felt like I could still keep going.

"Cause it's way after midnight and you do need at least some sleep". She said as she looked at her cell phone.

Dominique's POV

It was about one thirty in the morning and Ichigo was still going at it. Even though I had said we would go straight to the advanced stuff I had to go over the basics with him, this would help him out in the long run. I told him that he should get some rest. Tomorrow I would show him my vasto lorde form. I anticipated his reaction. A normal person would be afraid, but him, he would most likely take it all into stride.

"What about you? What are you going to do"? Ichigo asked as we walked back up to the main area of the vizard hangout. I sighed, but then I grinned as I turned to look at him.

"I'm gonna fight Shinji. You can watch if you wanna. In fact you need to watch. This will be one of your lessons". I grinned as I walked towards the vizards. Some of them were sleeping while the others were reading or in Shinji's and Hiyori's case, arguing. They stopped when Ichigo and I came up to them though.

"Hey what's up? Don't tell me your done training already". Shinji asked.

"No way. Ichigo here just needs to rest for tomorrow and I wanted our match". I smiled sweetly. He gulped nervously.

"O-okay". He trembled slightly. Maybe he'd looked into my profile at the shadow academy since we last talked. He seemed scared enough.

_'Good'._ Shiva said evilly.

"I'll go easy on you and not use my zanpakuto okay"? I said with a shrug of my shoulders. He nodded a little as I left my body and stabbed my Zangetsu into the ground at my side. Shinji flinched, but otherwise said nothing. He drew his zanpakuto and I raised my reiatsu. Soon I was standing there in my half hollow form. Shinji's eyes went wide, as did most of the other vizards. The ones who had been asleep, were now awake due to my power in the air.

I lazily pulled my mask to the side of my face and stood at the ready. My wings were folded against my back, but ready to spring open at a moments notice. My tail swished side to side without touching the ground. I straitened my claws to make them look like spears, but I kept my arm blades sheathed. I knew I looked like one of the characters that belonged on one of my favorite shows; Dragon Ball Z.

"You can have the first move Shinji". I said mock sweetly in my metallic voice. He charged at me, but I rose up into the air with a quick flap of my wings. I stayed airborne for an instant before my sharp eyes detected movement to my left.

I swung my arms around just in time to clash with Shinji's blade. His eyes were cool and calculating, his mouth set in that strange frown of his. That was just like him, he was trying to figure out what my next move was. Well, since the last time we had fought my fighting style had changed somewhat. I was going to mess around with him some though.

I used my memories of all the times I had spared with the vizards and based my moves on that. I swung my arms in an attempt to claw him while using my tail for defense. This was actually a moderation of what I would do with Zangetsu. Instead though, I had both my hands free instead of just one. Shinji's signature smirk came onto his face as he grew more confident. He began to think that I hadn't really improved much at all; perfect.

He hacked and slashed at me. I knew he wouldn't release his shikai though. His pride prevented him from doing so. I had known that he was once a normal soul reaper captain before he became a vizard, but of what squad though, he never said.

He'd never told me the identity of the people who caused him to turn into a vizard. Now that I knew it was Aizen I felt even more rage towards the bastard and a new kinship with the vizards themselves.

Shinji and the others made it clear that when they became vizards, their lives had ended. When they had come to the World of the Living they were considered fugitives to the Soul Society, that is, until the captain of squad 0 found them, Captain Masaki Hitsutami. She'd been the captain before Rose. Her and her hollow stepped down from command about six years ago as the 96th and 97th captains. I'd never gotten to meet her myself.

She had brought them in and gave them everything they needed. They decided to stay in the World of the Living, to keep an eye out for other vizards and shadow shinigami. That was nearly eighty years ago though.

I was jolted back to the present by the feel of a cero being charged. I saw Shinji charging up one of his super strong ceros. I smirked and held both my hands out in front of me as I charged up my own cero. His was deep red, the typical cero color, but mine was a pretty deep blue, the same as a gran rey cero. I charged it up and released it at the exact same time that Shinji did, but as my cero raced towards his, I rushed forward just behind the blast.

When the ceros collided, it created a huge explosion with plenty of smoke. I flew right through the blast and directly at Shinji. The last time we had two ceros collide in midair I had sonidoed behind him to attack. He was turned away from me, expecting me to run around and attack. I was technically doing the same thing, but he was facing the wrong way.

I rushed at him and stopped just before I could jab him with my claws. He noticed my presensce and turned around only to see me in front of him an instant before I sonidoed right behind him. I was behind him once again, but this time I was facing away from him with my arms crossed over my chest.

"I'm over here". I said darkly, just like super sayian 4 Gogeta did in Dragonball Z Budokai 3 (Love the videogame). I then turned sharply, coiled my tail around his waist, and twisted in midair to send him flying to the ground. He landed on the floor hard, and stayed there. That was a victory for me.

"Ohhhh...ow". He moaned. I giggled just before I landed lightly on the ground. My clawed fist went up into the air.

"Booyah! I win"! I yelled happily. Ichigo walked up to me, his eyes were filled with humor at Shinji's expense. The rest of the vizards didn't pay any attention to Shinji as they went back to their reading or sleeping.

I changed back to normal and walked with Ichigo to the back of the warehouse, but not before grabbing two bed rolls and a couple pillows. When Ichigo and I were safely away from the group he set up the beds right beside each other and I stretched out on mine, while he laid back on his.

"That was amazing". Ichigo said. I could only giggle.

"It was nothing really. Shinji didn't even use his shikai and I wasn't going all out, that's for sure, but it was fun as hell to kick the snot out of him". He nodded as his eyes closed. He was snoring away in mere minutes. I watched him sleep for a moment. His face lost its usual scowl as it relaxed. His mouth was slightly open and soft snores came from between his lips.

_'He's cute when he sleeps'._ I thought to myself as I curled up to his side and fell asleep. The last thing I felt was Ichigo's arms wrapping around me. I smiled as I drifted off.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Ichigo's POV

I quickly fell into a dream, for some odd reason though, I could tell that it was a dream. I was standing on what seemed like some old battlefield. The sky was dark and when I looked on the ground I saw bodies everywhere. The bodies of children, their faces contorted in fear, their parents reaching out for them seeming to want to protect them, even in death.

My face drained of color at the sight and I felt chilled to the bone. I heard a loud scream that took my attention away from the bodies. I jerked around and saw several huge hollows chasing after a child. He was running for his life, but from the looks of it, he would be captured and killed. I tried to make a move to save him, but I couldn't move my body. Just as the hollows were about to pile on top of the child when a bright light filled my sight.

I was finally able to blink and saw nine or so children surrounding the boy. A boy wearing a torn shirt and a pair of pants faced the hollows. He lifted his right hand and dark shadows burst from it. The hollows were torn to shreds and scattered on the ground by the shadows. I looked at the children and saw that each of them wore different outfits, but had one thing in common; their eyes had no irises or pupils; they were completely white and they were all set into hardened scowls.

They then backed away from the child and stood in a semi circle around him. It seemed that they would let the child leave if that was what he wanted to do. That was when a voice came to life in my head.

_**"Come with us. We will protect you".**_ The voices of all the children said at once. They seemed to ring in my head. One child stepped forward from the others, the child was a girl. She wore a pitch black kimono that dragged on the ground. It was also ragged, and covered in blood.

_**"You want revenge right? The hollows killed your family didn't they. Join us and you will be strong. You will never be alone again".**_ The child said with a cold voice that sent chills down my spine. It wasn't from her dark voice that sent the chill, it was the fact that it sounded like it could have once been Yuzu's voice though she looked nothing like her with her light red hair and sharp features. The boy spoke up.

"Who are you"? He said fearfully. The child smiled, her white eyes seemed to soften some.

_**"We are the shadows. We were once children like you, but we changed in order to save this world. You are like us and you have potential. Now make your decision".**_ She said as she lifted her small hand, palm up, to the boy. Offering him his choice.

"Yes". The other child smiled as he squared his shoulders.

_**"Very good".**_ She said with a tight smile. The shadow beneath her upraised arm moved and then shot at the boy. The shadow first circled around him in a black ring before touching his feet and shooting up his body like crawling fingers, until he was completely covered in a black, withering shadow as his body spasmed. Whatever had happened to him, happened fast.

The shadow receded and left the boy standing there, his eyes now white like the others and his expression cold. Both he and the girl rejoined the group and the shadows writhed beneath their feet with lives of their own.

_**"We are one. We are the shadows. The ten of us will save this world. Now scatter. Seal the hollows away, the soul reapers will return to the Soul Society, and erase all memory of this dark time from every human's mind. We are the first of our race and we shall watch this world and the others. We are the medium between the worlds. Ichigo Kagenoyami, will lead us".**_ Their voices rang out in finality. A boy who wore a white cloak that was frayed and torn like the rest of the childrens' clothes, stepped forward.

_**"Go now".**_ Each of the children bowed once before disappearing into the darkness. The shadows engulfed them before vanishing. Then the boy turned to face me. I expected him to walk through me or something that would be typical of a dream, but he walked up to me and looked me in the eyes even though he was almost two heads shorter than me, and his white eyes seem to bore through me.

_**"You now know a small portion of your history. I was the first of the captains of squad 0. I was the first to awaken my inner hollow. Remember what you have seen here, for this was once what the world was. Now go and continue our goal; to keep this world from ever being like this again".**_ He said, his white eyes looking at me, unblinkingly.

He vanished in a dark mist, but was replaced with a hell butterfly. The butterfly flew around me once and then landed on my shoulder. Then another voice entered my mind.

_'Now that you are a part of squad 0 you now have been assigned a hell butterfly. Whenever you go to enter the Soul Society or the squad 0 realm, this hell butterfly will guarantee you safe passage. Good luck in your training, section 13 member Ichigo Kurosaki. May your sword stay sharp and your battles victorious'._ That was when the dream faded and everything went black.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

When I woke up early the next morning I stretched and got ready to wake Ichigo up since he didn't wake up from my simply moving around. I looked at him and he was all sprawled out on the makeshift bed. What surprised me though was the hell butterfly on his forehead, flapping it's wings lazily.

_'He must have had the Origin Dream from the hell butterfly'._ I then remembered how it felt to have the same dream; not pleasant. It flew up and circled me once before flying away and disappearing in the shadows to return to the barracks. I giggled just before I started nudging him with my foot.

"Wake up". I said quietly. He mumbled once before continuing to snore. I looked over my shoulder to where the vizards were still snoring away as well, that was when an evil thought popped into my head. I grinned and left Ichigo to sleep.

_'For the moment'._ I thought to myself. I left my body and changed into my full hollow form, but I kept my reiatsu hidden so no one would be able to tell that it was me. I slunk forward while keeping my wings close to my body and made sure that my tail didn't touch the floor. I was extra careful with my claws and to keep them from clacking on the stone floor.

Just as I made my way over to where the Vizards were I felt Ichigo's reiatsu rise slightly as he awoke into consciousness. I raised my head and looked back to see Ichigo looking at me. He went to stand up. I opened a link with him to warn him.

_'Don't do anything. This is gonna be fun'._ I said to him. He nodded his head and sat back down on the makeshift bed while watching me. I turned my head as I continued to get closer to the vizards. When I was standing directly over them I stood up to my full height and raised my head upward. I sucked in a deep breath and...

"ROOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR"! The sound of my roar shook the very ground. Every last one of the vizards screamed as they jumped up in fear. They all drew their swords and pointed them at me.

_'Gotcha'._ I said as I opened a link with them. They each looked at me in shock.

"Dominique"? Shinji stuttered. I laughed through my fangs.

_'In the hierro flesh. Who else would I be'?_ I thought out loud. Kensei was looking at me like he was about to rip my throat out. I stuck out my long, blue, forked tongue at him through my fangs. Hiyori was just about to take a hit at me with her zanpakuto when I sonidoed out the way and over to where Ichigo was.

I curled around where our makeshift bed was, around Ichigo, and hissed menacingly at them. I rested my head on top of Ichigo's while keeping all of my wieght off of him. I then changed back to normal, still resting on Ichigo. I rested on him comfortably.

"How's that for a wake up call"! I yelled over to the fuming group as Ichigo laughed along with me.

"So what are we gonna do first"? Ichigo asked me. I thought for a minute.

"I'm going to show you something". I said as I stood up and began walking down to the steps that lead to the training room.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I stood in front of him with my arms crossed. He left his body up where mine was at the staircase. Before we came down though I made sure to put up my strongest barrier around the door. I so didn't want the vizards to try and get revenge on us for the stunt I just pulled, or for them to find out that I had a vasto lorde form. I huffed a sigh when he walked up to me.

"What is it Dominique"? He asked. I shook my head and decided to begin.

"You know that I haven't told you everything right"? He paused a moment to think, but nodded.

"Yeah. You said you'd tell me later about whatever it was". I nodded this time.

"Yes. The secret I'm about to tell you is one that only captains Rose and Sero know about possibly the seated officers of the squad, but I'm not sure. You see it's not really rare that a shadow shinigami has one hollow form, but it is rare to have two forms in addition to their mask. I am the only one in squad 0 that has not just two hollow forms, but also a vasto lorde form". His eyes widened, but he remained silent. I stepped back away from him a few feet. He tried to come forward, but I held my hand up to stop him.

"You see, some members of squad 0 have vasto lorde forms too, not many, but some do. Our vasto lorde form is the pinnacle of our power. Those that have this form usually become a seated officer or a section leader, at least, those who can control it. We, by some unspoken rule, tend to keep this a secret from the other members of the squad, but of course, some don't. Now I'm going to show you mine, but you must remember something. When I'm in this state I tend to not think as clearly as I would normally do". He nodded cautiously.

"I understand".

"I've only changed into this form fully a couple of times. The only other time I was close to changing was on Sokyoku Hill. You remember right"? I forced him to remember me, roaring in rage, even in a weakened state I was able to take two captains without batting an eye.

"Yes. You were entirely different than you normally are when that happened". I nodded.

"That was because I'd lost a lot of blood and the fact that you had been hurt so badly". I looked down as the memory filled my mind again, sending white hot stabs of rage through me. I squashed it down though. Getting mad and then changing wouldn't be a good idea at all. A catastrophe had been prevented on Sokyoku Hill that day, because of Shiva, Ichigo, and the fact that I still had both my gentie reiins in place.

"Okay. Shiva"? I called. Shiva materialized by my side and stepped over to the entrance of the training room. She held up her right hand and sealed the door with a reiatsu blocking kido as well as another barrier. After that she went to stand beside Ichigo.

"It's so that in case she loses control, we can bind her more easily". Shiva said to Ichigo. I nodded my agreement.

I closed my eyes and focused my power. I felt the rush of power flow through me in a pulse of energy. I swallowed once before I let the power engulf my being.

Shiva's POV

Dominique was going to show Ichigo her vasto lorde form. I walked over and sealed the door to the training ground with a kage kido and walked back to stand beside Ichigo. Dominique stepped away from both Ichigo and I as she prepared to change.

She stood there for a moment, motionless, but then I felt her energy go through the air; her reiatsu in her vasto lorde form was much darker and menacing than her other forms, and for good reason too. She held her head down in concentration, but her shoulders were shaking with the strain of containing the power inside her.

The reiatsu changed and started swirling around her, not like when she changes into her half hollow or full hollow forms. It did not cover her, but instead formed a near transparent tornado around her of red/black energy.

Her shihakusho was whipped around her, same as her hair. Her skin began to drain of color until it was as white as mine was. Her hands which had been curled into fist at her side began to seep blood onto the ground as her fingers turned into claws. Ichigo was about to step forward, but I put my hand out in front of him and shook my head.

"No. This is all a part of the change. She's purposely slowing it down so you can see and so that it doesn't cause her instincts to go out of control". I kept my voice calm, but I was in fact, nervous that she would lose control and hurt Ichigo. It would practically kill her if she attacked him in a fit of rage and instinct. Ichigo then turned from me, and back to Dominique.

Her hands unclenched and when they did they had finished changing into claws. They were shorter than her half hollow form's and slightly curved on the ends. The blood finished dripping from her hands and her claw tips were etched in black. Dominique's toes became clawed as well but they remained white and that they were not like the claws in her half or full hollow forms either. They had a more human look to them.

Her head lifted up in time for us to see a hollow hole melt itself into her chest where her collar bone was. We looked at her and saw that her eyes were cold as a mask formed itself quickly on her face. It looked like a mix of her half hollow and full hollow mask, but it was its own individuallity as well. Her mask had the same designs on it as normal, but the red markings were now black.

Her mask now had a slightly muzzled face and two long horns rested at the top of the head that tilted back like an oval halo. The mask actually continued towards the back, acting like a helmet, it stopped to where her hair flowed from the back of it near the base of her skull.

Then the energy tornado dissipated. She stood there, calm almost, her body still as stone. Ichigo looked at her face to find that he couldn't see her eyes behind the mask like he normally would. There was nothing but the black holes that were visible, until a deep gold glow came from where her eyes were. In this form her gold eyes glowed as slits.

"Domi-"? She cut him off with a low warning growl. He turned to look at me. I kept my eyes on Dominique and put my hand up on the hilt of my reverse Zangetsu in case things got a bit sketchy. Dominique continued to look at us, but then her clawed hand reached up and opened her mask by pulling it by the hinge of the jaw to where we could see her face. The way it opened was like a helmet and it revealed her changed face. While in her half hollow form her face had remained mostly the same, now was different.

The first thing that was always noticed were her pupils, they were now slitted like her full hollow form's eyes, surrounded by the strangely glowing gold irises. Her eyes were also darker, but that was because she now had estigma markings along her eyelids. The marks that normally adorned her body were no longer blue, but pitch black and she had a black crescent moon etched on her forehead. Also a black streaks stretched across each of her cheek bones. Her eyes looked at us coldly before she spoke.

"...This is my vasto lorde form...". When she spoke it was almost growled out because her teeth were now fangs. They looked like how Inuyasha's fangs looked when he was in full demon mode. I personally thought it looked kind of cool. A pair for the top jaw and a pair for the lower jaw as well as her other teeth, they were pointed too.

_'A huminoid dragon'._ I thought to myself. She turned to me.

"Now...fight". She growled at me challengingly. She took off her mask all the way and placed it on the ground. I nodded my head and stepped forward. I drew my sword, but slammed it into the ground. Ichigo looked like he was about to say something when my red/white energy surrounded me.

When the energy disappeared, I stood there in my own half hollow form. Ichigo couldn't do anything but stare in shock. I grinned, my mask hiding my smirk.

_'That's right. This is the first time I've showed him this form of mine'._ I thought mischievously. I knew I was the same shade of white as I normally am, but my markings were black instead of blue, and my mask was black with white markings. I left my mask on as the blade like horns on my arms wrenched forward until they were parallel with my arms, just facing forward like twin katanas.

I straitened my claws and lowered into a predatory crouch. Dominique continued to stand there and look at me, before moving her arm towards her Zangetsu, which she had left on the ground back by the staircase. Her blade flew back to her and into her right hand; a trick we had learned while in the academy. She then threw her head back and roared.

As soon as she had her blade, I shot at her like a bullet. My arm blades hit her sword in an ear-splitting ring as the echo of her roar faded. She reacted faster than me though with her enhanced speed and power. She grabbed me by the collar of my shihakusho and threw me clear across the training ground...past Ichigo. I used my wings to right myself in midair. My tail lashed out as my wings billowed from the speed at which I was going.

She paused a moment before charging at me. I was able to see what was going on from where I was. Ichigo grabbed his own blade in defense. He thought that she was about to attack him.

_'Stupid'._ I thought, but she merely glanced at him as she rushed past, her eyes turned to him once before moving onto her target; me. I let out the breath I hadn't even noticed I was holding.

At least she didn't attack him. The fight between us increased in intensity the longer it got. I was using every trick that either of us knew and yet she was strong enough in this form to easily over power me. I knew that the reiatsu levels in the room was heavy enough to put Old Man Yama to shame any day of the week. This sort of fighting would show Ichigo just how much he can still improve.

She had told him about her gentie reiin, but not about mine. The two seals that restricted our power, that nearly everyone in squad 0 wore, and that he would probably have to get one soon, after this war is over at least. Even with our powers sealed, we could take down most opponents without batting an eye.

Just as the battle was really beginning to heat up and get fun, Dominique stopped moving, and I stopped soon after. Dominique turned to look at Ichigo. She then closed her eyes and sighed, her mask dissappeared from the ground further back. Her reiatsu surrounded her and soon she was back to normal as she released her form. She shook a little; a bit wobbly on her legs after using that much reiatsu, not to mention keyed up after a good sparring session with yours truly. **;**P

"Wow. That was...different". Ichigo said breathlessly. Dominique seemed lost in thought, oh well, whatever it was, I'll hear about it later.

Ichigo's POV

After Shiva and Dominique stopped fighting, I walked up to her and this time Shiva didn't stop me. I put my arms around her gently. She shook slightly in my arms.

"As I said before, I'm not scared of you so relax". She shook her head, but she leaned into me. Shiva changed back to normal and sat down on a rock nearby.

"No it's not that, is just that it seemed easier to remain in control this time. I've only ever trained with Rose and Shiva with my vasto lorde form and each and every time I would lose control of myself to my instincts. This time though...I could actually control myself somewhat". She paused before looking at me, "Oh, and that was very stupid of you to raise your sword to me. If I hadn't of been in control then I might of attacked you when you went for your weapon". I blushed in embarrassment.

"But it looked like you were going to attack me. I didn't know". I complained. She laughed lightheartedly.

"Oh I know, but just so you know, when my instincts are mainly in control,...being...submissive is the best thing to do in your case at least". She started giggling hysterically while Shiva was laughing out loud as her legs comically swung in the air. She was clearly in on the joke.

"What? Was I supposed to roll over and show you by belly like a wolf or a dog or something"? I asked in irritation. She snickered again.

"I dunno, maybe...hehe. If you would have I most likely would have at least paused for you...". She stopped mid sentence, her face became red and she looked away in embarrassment. She walked away muttering, "Damn...been reading too many Inuyasha fanfictions... Head out of the gutter sister, now". I grinned. I heard Shiva start up a whole 'nother round of hysterical laughs until she fell off the rock she'd been sitting on and landed hard on the ground.

"You like the show Inuyasha"? I asked curiously. Karin had liked that show, and I watched it with her a few times. Dominique nodded.

"I like pretty much any manga or anime out there...except Hentai". She smiled brightly at me then continued, "Oh well we really don't have time to talk about this so let's get back to your training"! Her smile widened.

"Yeah". I smiled with her as I drew my zanpakuto.

Me: Another long ass chapter done...I miss sleep dammit! (Sulking while leaning on classroom desk)

Shiva: We no like school.

Me: Damn strait and I still gotta go through college! (Bangs head repeatedly against the desk)

Shiva: For realz people, she really is doing this cause she's writing this when she should be taking down notes in environmental science.

Me: Damn it all!

Shiva: Hehe. Fun.

Out of Control by Hoobastank

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	24. Internal Struggles

Mimie: YAY! MY CHAPPY IS HERE!

Me: What? I don't have you scheduled for this chapter! (Flipping through computer files) Wait you mixed my chapters?

Mimie: Oh well. This chapter is important Jade so it will happen NOW!

Me: (Backs up slightly while sweat dropping) Okay, okay fine. Sheesh.

Shiva: Pushy much?

Mimie: ON WITH THE SHOW!

Me: (Angry at being ignored) Are you gonna do the disclaimer like you've been asking to for the last 3 chapters?

Mimie: Uh no. I gots something more important to do. See ya! (Disappears)

Kyle: And that's what we got to deal with everyday.

Selena and Ciera: Yes we do.

Me: Damn. Oh well, I own nothing but my twisted imagination so lets get on with it shall we? It's almost summer time! Hurray! And I've hit past the one hundred review mark. Double hurray! Oh and I want to give a shout out to all of those who've given me reviews on my story. I shall list them now:

IdentifiedLuna1998, pinkrose1122, ultima-owner, drmona lord, shimigamix, SeasprayLuv, Askane, Zaralann, KHFFROKSMISOKS XD, brandin, Demander of Updates, jacob2119, Alex Spotlight, Darkhollow90, candycane75, HichiShirosaki, Renji55, Ellie, , gemava, gaara king of the sand, Chelsea Lynn, EliXmer XV, akeara4, Drakesword, and finally the person who gave me my very first review ever, Sam Leonhart.

Me: These are the people who give the will to even continue this story. Every time I look at a review, it just makes me feel all warm inside that people actually stop to read my work. It gives me the inspiration to continue and to strive to better my writing skills.

Shiva: So please send us those reviews. It's not that hard. Just tap that little button down there after you've read the chapter.

Me: Please?

Shiva: Let's just get on with the show now. And action!

**Chapter 24: Internal Struggles**

Mimie's POV

We were camped out in the Menos Forest. Ever since that guy Aizen took Las Noches out from under Old Man Barragan things have been really uptight. Kyle won't let me go too far from the group since I can change at random times, even though I still go to the World of the Living whenever I want. Then again, Kyle can change into black Kyle at anytime as well.

I could show everyone my special skill by accident if I'm not careful. My super infinite back portal! We're not supposed to mess with the arrancars that show up around here and we're not supposed to start random fights.

"Mimie"! A pissed off yell came from behind me. I smiled happily as Kyle called my name in irritation...again. I couldn't help but giggle when I felt her anger radiating off of her. It was always so funny to get her mad.

"Yah~"? I asked in a sing song voice. She stood in front of me glaring at the cloak at my side. She was a bit short cause she looked 16, but her gold eyes gave looked like they could kill you in one shot. Her long brown hair hung lightly at her shoulders.

At least when she was White Kyle she was fun to be around, when she is Black Kyle I make sure to stay back. Her Shitenshi hung at her side in the belt of her black combat jeans. Her hoodie was white as the sand was and that was where her kittens; Tubasaneko and Yukineko, would sit in her pockets.

I then looked back at my cloak. It had once been perfectly black like the rest of the group's, but for the last twenty minutes I'd been spray painting it rainbow colors. It was pretty now.

"What did I tell you about spray painting the cloaks rainbow colors"? She asked me. I smiled innocently. My purple eyes were most likely shining like a little kid's right about now.

"But you only said not to spray everyone's cloak. You didn't say anything about mine". I pointed out with triumph at being smart enough to find that loop hole. Her face went blank and she started stuttering.

"But, but, ...Dammit". She stalked away like a pissed off older sister. To us at least, she was our older sister in many ways. We were the types of kids that didn't belong anywhere. Kyle was a half soul, I was a soul eater, Ciera never told us what she was, and Selena was a bount. She was one of the few remaining bounts in existence that weren't corrupted by power or hunted down and killed by the Soul Society.

Kyle kept us in line...most of the time. I was a troublemaker, Selena was a grumpy and germaphobic person, Ciera was a happy-go-lucky person who knew lots of stories, and finally Kyle was the big sister to all of us even though none of us were related by blood.

I left my cloak out to dry on the outside of the hollowed tree that we've been calling home for the past month. I ran after Kyle. She was heading out for her watch when I ran up behind her and hugged her from behind.

"BOOB HUGGLE"! I called happily. She desperately tried to unlatch me, but I hung on tight. I then let go and stood in front of her.

"Why in the hell do you do that"? She asked me exasperatedly. I smiled.

"Cause it's fun. It's really funny when I do it to Selena". I answered her with a smirk.

"What's fun"? Selena's voice came as she dropped from one of the higher branches; coming back from her watch. She had purple hair and purple eyes. She wore a halter top, tights, and mid calf boots where her doll resided. It was the shape of a dagger and it's power was that it could control earth; which was perfect for the desert, what with all this sand. I jumped up behind her and boob huggled her too.

"This is"! I sang happily.

"Don't touch me"! She yelled as she pushed me off of her. I heard a giggle behind me and saw Ciera watching us. She was wearing her t-shirt/blue jeans combo, but also had her own black cloak on with her short sword that was belted at her side. I pouted at Selena.

"You always say that". I whined to her as I poked her in her side. She squirmed, trying to get away from me.

"Cause I mean it! Don't touch me". She almost growled at me. Ciera giggled again.

"You know, that should be your catch phrase Selena-wa". Ciera said with her silver eyes glowing mischievously. Her cropped black hair hung in her face. She was dark skinned, but she was Irish too so she would always make me laugh with her accent when she told stories.

"Shut up". Selena said with a huff. Kyle looked at us before shaking her head, I caught sight of a smile. I grinned too. Then Kyle spoke up.

"I'm heading out on patrol. I want all of you to get some rest. I have a feeling that something is coming.". All three of us looked at her. two sets of purple eyes and a pair of silver on her.

"Yes". We all murmured, now seriously.

"We know that Aizen has now made permanent residence here in Hueco Mundo. We saw when he took Las Noches from Barragan and changed it into that dome looking palace. The arrancars now bow down to that freak of nature soul reaper. Even that old man, who once ruled Hueco Mundo, is now his lap dog". She said with disgust.

"What about the Kiseichu (Proper name for the Parasite, for those who've forgotten)". Selena asked.

"I know from my snooping around that he has moved it deeper into Las Noches. Each day it's power increases. Ever since Captain Raiden was killed and Captain Nami went missing, things have been a wreck in squad 14. That bitch Tayuya is practically glowing with the control she has over the squad". Kyle grimaced and clenched her fist. The four of us were not a part of squad 14, but we would help the members of both squad 0 and 14 when they came to Hueco Mundo.

The Vasto Lorde squads were dealing with the scattering arrancars above the Menos Forest, while we dealt with the lesser hollows and menos here.

"Kyle? When are we's going to invade the palace"? I asked, I wanted to kick some butt and mess with people. Kyle shook her head at my question.

"We're waiting for a spark to start the fire. For now though we have to keep an eye on the situation". We nodded. Then we all went our separate ways to begin preparing for the coming war.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Luppi's POV: Hueco Mundo

I was just promoted to espada number 6 after Grimmjow had made a raid on the World of the Living and had all of his fracciones killed. He even had some of the unassigned arrancars killed as well. This was perfect. Now that I was espada number 6, I could be around Arreniero more often and plan things along with him. We have much to do before this war breaks out.

I stood beside him in his dark palace as we looked over maps of Hueco Mundo from the vasto lorde squads. He stood there, still fused like me, but I soon got tired of being in this form.

"Separation tactic 4". I said as I split apart into my two other forms.

Louis's POV

"Ahhh, much better". I said as I stretched my stiff muscles.

"Why don't you split"? Piair asked Arreniero. He laughed once in a high pitched voice and once in a deep voice.

"No matter what you say, that weird double voice thing is still freaky". I giggled as I pointed at him.

"Separation tactic 4". He said in his deep voice as he separated as well. Kaien and Metestalkia stood there. I ran up to Kaien and hugged him.

"Have you heard anything from Rose"? I asked him. He nodded and smiled at me.

"Yeah. Apparently some of our own are in Karakura Town. That's why they took down Grimmjow's fractiones so easily". He murmured in thought. I giggled.

"Grimmkitty didn't think ahead and now we got his spot". I said. Kaien nodded his head.

"But you do know that he'll get his spot back eventually". Metestalkia said. Piair nodded.

"Aizen will find some way to get Grimmjow back in his old spot, but of course we'll be ready. After all, it's all in the acting". Piair said as he jumped up on one of the pillars to look through the dark tinted window. I giggled as I sat down with Kaien on his soft cushions. Metestalkia went and started trying to get in contact with our squad with his phone.

"Hey guys. Take a guess on just who is in Karakura town". Metestalkia said as he went through the files on his smart phone.

"Who"? I asked. He laughed.

"Well I think you know this kid cause of your class records. Dominique Kudo, the current leader of section 13". He said with a smirk. My eyes widened at the sight of the file on Dominique.

"Ooo! Ryu-chan is leading our end at Karakura? Nice". I said happily. She and her hollows had been fun to pick on and mess with. This was definitely going to be a wild ride.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV: Vizard Underground Training Room

"Come on Ichigo! Get back up! No slacking"! I said as Ichigo got thrown on his back again from one of my strikes.

"I know"! He said as he pulled himself back up on his feet and charged towards me again. I raised my Zangetsu and blocked his blow. He was still holding back, even though I'd told him not to, and it was irritating me. I barred my teeth at him.

"What did I say? Don't hold back. You're not going to get stronger if you hold back against me"! I snarled as I charged at him. He blocked my blade with his own. We were both snarling as we clashed again, and again. I jumped back as he slashed downward. His blade struck into the ground and got stuck there. I appeared before him and held my blade at his throat. I looked at him seriously when he looked up at me.

"If I had been the enemy, then you would have been dead". I said coldly. He looked down.

"I know". He said through clenched teeth. My expression softened as I looked him in the eye.

"I know I'm being rough, but how else are you going to learn to anticipate your opponents' moves"? I asked. He nodded.

"I understand and I don't want you to go easy on me". He said as he stood back up, yanking his blade from the ground. I put my Zangetsu back on my back.

"Okay. We need to get started on your hollification training". He put up his blade as well.

"Right". He said seriously. I took off my shihakusho to reveal the shozoku top underneath. I also took off my sword and the chain that held it, and then put them with my shihakusho. I crossed my arms over my chest as I turned to look at him.

"You now know that I have four hollow forms; my normal form, half hollow, full hollow, and vasto lorde form. The thing is though; I'm the only one in squad 0 that is like this in our recorded history. Rose believes the reason for my numerous transformations were only possible because when I trained, I had two hollows instead of one. Everyone in squad 0 has a hollow mask, that's normal if they're a shadow shinigami or even a vizard. It's not as common to see a shadow shinigami to have control over a hollow form, much less two of them along with their mask, though it's not impossible. Those who have more than two forms usually have the mask, the hollow form, and a vasto lorde form. There are very few of these members". I stopped to catch my breath.

"How many shadow shinigami even have vasto lorde forms". Ichigo asked. I looked down.

"Less than one percent of all shadow shinigami have a vasto lorde form, but there is a reason for that". I answered.

"What"?

"You have to die in your spiritual body to obtain this form. Your body is pushed to its limit and then you have to take a fatal wound in order for that part of you to emerge from your soul. It's not always guaranteed to work though. Some have tried and died for real, trying to obtain a vasto lorde form. That's why Rose makes a candidate go through extreme testing before going through the actual process". He nodded in understanding.

"I see. Apparently you did it and succeeded. What was it like". He asked curiously. I looked down. It was hard to remember. I trained for weeks to see if I could have a vasto lorde form. Rose said I had passed and gave me the choice of whether I wanted to go through with it or not. I chose to do it, even though I knew the risk.

"It wasn't pleasant. Dying sucks you know. It sucked even worse when you wake back up and you have no control what-so-ever. After the first change though, it gets better. You're able to keep in control a little bit more each time. That fight that you saw earlier with me and Shiva"? I asked as I looked at the sky.

"Yeah".

"Well that was my fourth time transforming, if you include the almost transformation on Sokyoku Hill". I admitted. He nodded at me.

"Yes. I remember that". He said thoughtfully. I then looked at him.

"I'm not going to put you through that. Unless you talk to Rose, I'm not going to train you to obtain a vasto lorde form". I said before walking away and turning my back to him. I raised my reiatsu and transformed into my half hollow form. I raised my right hand in front of my face and looked at the white dagger-like claws before clenching them into a fist. I then turned back to him.

"Are you ready"? I asked.

"For what"? He asked in confusion. I smiled behind my mask, unseen to him.

"For your own transformation". I said to him. He looked shocked for an instant before breaking out into a grin.

"I'm ready". He said, a challenge in his voice.

"Okay then. The way you get your hollow form is by fighting your inner hollow. I'll leave Shiva in charge out here and referee the fight in your inner world. I won't be in there immediately though, so you'll get a chance to talk with Hichigo while I fight your hollifying form out here for a while. Have fun". I said as I zoomed towards him unexpectedly.

"What"? He said in surprise as I appeared before his face and sent a reiatsu wave at him from my palm; knocking him slap out. He began falling to the ground and more than likely hitting his head. I caught him with my tail before he could hit the ground. It wrapped itself securely around his body as I lifted him up off the ground. I then sent Shiva to go get Hachi.

Ichigo's eyes were still open, but they were vacant from being forced into his inner world. I closed his eye lids with my palm before setting him on his stomach on the ground gently. We only had about five minutes or so before Ichigo would wake up and begin hollifying. I turned around to see all of the vizards coming, lead by Shiva instead of just Hachi. The door closed behind them as they made a circle around Ichigo and myself. Shiva re-entered my head silently. Shinji was the first to speak.

"What are you planning Dominique"? He asked seriously. I moved my mask to the side of my face before talking to him.

"He's gonna fight his inner hollow in order to obtain his mask and maybe even his hollow form". I said as I backed away from Ichigo so Hachi could put up the barrier around him. Hachi slammed his hands together before beginning his kido.

"Wall of iron sand, tower of the shaven priest, glow incandescent iron, tranquil and soundless to the end. Bakudo number 87, Gochu Tekkan". He said as five iron pillars came from thin air and landed on top of Ichigo. I knew it wouldn't be strong enough to hold him down. Hachi then put up one of his own personal barriers.

"Let me in Hachi. I'm his mentor so I fight him alone. None of you interfere". I said as I looked at each of them with my hollified eyes. Hachi nodded and opened a door sized hole in the barrier. I stepped through and waited for Ichigo to awaken. It would only take a few moments now.

Ichigo's POV

I opened my eyes to my inner world. Hichigo was facing me from a couple of buildings over. The cool wind whipped across the space menacingly, like the time before a huge storm appeared. My eyes locked with Hichigo's. He grinned darkly at me. I knew that this would be a real fight.

Dominique had told me that even though I was on good terms with my hollow, I would have to fight all out with him. If I didn't, then I would die. We both stood there for a moment, just staring at each other, willing for the other to move. I broke eye contact to look around once.

"Where's Zangetsu"? I asked.

"He's in Dominique's inner world for the duration of the training". He answered. I nodded.

"Well then, I guess we should get started". I said as I reached up for my zanpakuto. Hichigo smirked at me before grabbing his own reverse Zangetsu. I took in a deep breath through my nose and exhaled out of my mouth before tensing up. He crouched down and leaped up into the air. I gripped the end of my zanpakuto hilt, just enough to have some of the hilt wrap still in my hand before leaping to the right.

He crashed into the building where I'd been just a half second before, causing a cloud of debris and dust to rise up. While in mid-leap, I released my grip on my blade and sent it flying in the direction of Hichigo. As the blade flew away from me I gripped the hilt wrap and pulled the cloth to force the blade upwards. I then pulled the blade back to me and landed on the building where Hichigo had been at the beginning of the fight.

The dust cloud soon cleared and showed that Hichigo had a small wound on his shoulder, the exact same place where Dominique had received her first mark of battle, though much less severe. He stopped to look at the wound for a second and sneered at me. I placed the same expression on my face.

"Old wounds of the past come to bite me back huh"? He said with a smirk.

"Yeah. How does it feel"? I asked.

"Not too bad. Felt better though". I smirked. He flew at me with his own blade raised in the air while I lifted my Zangetsu up and blocked his strike. I pushed forward and sent him flying away from me. I then charged forward and went to attack him. He jumped up into the air and I pivoted from the ground and up into the sky as well. I launched a Getsugatensho, but he managed to dodge it before slashing downward at me.

I managed to block it with my own blade, but was sent hurtling to the ground from the force of it. I crashed into one of the buildings and managed to stand back up. I watched as Hichigo landed a few meters in front of me. He rested his zanpakuto on his shoulder lazily. I did the same as we both smirked at each other.

"How about we take this up a notch"? Hichigo asked. I smirked.

"Bankai"? I asked.

"Bankai". He answered. I planted my foot, causing the concrete and glass underneath my feet to buckle. We both roared as the energy began surging from us. I called on Tensa Zangestu's power as I changed into my bankai state. Reiatsu poured out of us and caused the building we were standing under to completely collapse.

Dominique's POV

I'd been waiting for Ichigo to awaken and attack me. It had started with him clawing at the ground while underneath the Gochu Tekkan. Soon he lifted his head up to show his half masked face. He had a completely crazy smile on his face as he began to stand up. He pushed to Gochu Tekkan off of him and grabbed his Zangetsu.

I lowered myself into a predatory crouch as he charged at me with a screech. I then flicked my arms outward and unsheathed my arm blades.

"Let's do this". I said as I charged forward. I met his Zangetsu with my arm blades with a metallic ring in the air. We collided again and again as he tried to find a way through my defenses. I gave him no openings though.

Then Ichigo stopped in mid strike, standing ram-rod strait, with a surprised expression on his hollifying face. I tensed my muscles in apprehension. His head flew back and a gurgling sound came from him as a hollow hole melted itself into his chest for the first time. My own hand instinctively reached up and touched the place where my own hollow hole was.

I quickly lowered my hand again and got back into position. His was lower and directly in the center of his chest, not to mention, much larger than my hollow hole was.

Now it was time for the real battle to begin.

_'Shiva'?_ I asked mentally.

_'Right'._ She answered. I felt her energy move so that it was just at the surface of my own, ready to take control in an instant. I charged at Ichigo and dodged an attack from his freshly bankai changed sword. My eyes narrowed in scrutiny as I thought out my plan of action. I began running around him at high speed, even though I wasn't in my bankai.

I saw my opening when he went to strike my face with his Tensa Zangetsu. I dug my clawed feet into the ground before flapping wings hard once, causing a cloud of dust to rise up. It was fighting dirty, but then again, I wasn't really going to hurt him. I then rushed at him as he was preoccupied with the dust cloud. I opened my right hand and felt it connect with the top of his head.

Shiva then forced control over my body and I opened a complete mind link with Ichigo. I felt myself fall into darkness and soon opened my eyes to a crumbling building of sort. I used sonido quickly to make sure I wouldn't fall before looking around. I was met with two blurs moving at high speed.

Ichigo, the black blur, seemed to be on the offensive, while Hichigo, the white blur, seemed to be on defense. They clashed numerous times while their reiatsu surged out of them in thick waves with every strike.

I shook my head with a smirk on my face. It looked like they were having fun at least. I wasn't here to really referee, but to make sure that things didn't get too out of hand and either of them got really hurt. They were allowed to wound each other, but not to kill each other.

The bad thing was, that even in battles such as this, even when you're not really serious, someone could end up dead if a mistake was made. It was like a hypersonic dance that could turn deadly in a millisecond. All it took to do so was for someone's concentration to be broken. I didn't want that to happen to either of them.

I watched and listen to the fight, hearing the sounds of snarls, grunts, and the sound of clashing metal. The battle soon increased in intensity as their instincts began to take over their fighting styles. I made sure to keep a safe distance for the sake of not getting hit with a stray Getsugatensho, which was very likely to happen in this sort of battle.

Trust me, I'd gotten enough complaints from Shirozangetsu when me and Shiva used to go all out. More than once he'd gotten singed a little from a stray attack.

Then something happened, they both completely stopped in their tracks to stare at each other. I made sure to keep my reiatsu down and to not alert them of my presence here. I felt that the air itself was heavy with their reiatsu. They then clashed again, their reiatsus trailing from their blades as they broke apart. Both of them were wearing serious expressions on their faces as they stared down at each other.

They spoke to each other for a couple of moments. Since I was too far away though, I couldn't hear what they said. I crossed my arms over my chest in irritation before going against my better judgment and shunpoed forward.

"Come one Ichigo, you're still relying on your head to much in the fight. You need to let your instincts out more". Hichigo said seriously.

"I know". Ichigo said seriously before charging again. They clashed and their power exploded around them. I raised my arms to try and block the power that was flowing everywhere. When the energy dissipated I saw Ichigo behind Hichigo with his blade held at the back of his neck. Ichigo then removed the blade and stepped back from Hichigo.

Hichigo looked at him with a smirk on his face before he sighed.

"Well I guess you win. So, what should we do now"? Hichigo asked.

"How the hell should I know? You're the one who's done this before". Ichigo huffed.

"So what? I'd only done this as Shirozangetsu, and that was five years ago". He retorted. Ichigo scratched the back of his head.

"I really don't care to fight anymore. I mean, it was fun sparring with you, but I'm kind of getting bored now, even though I won". He said in a laid back tone. I shook my head and grinned to myself.

"How about I just let you use my power. I mean, you've already channeled my power into an attack before. It shouldn't be that hard for you. Not to mention, I've got Shirozangetsu's memories and from what they hold, apparently it's not that hard to channel you my power, I just can't try to link, or take over until we get better at synchronizing our power output. I'd forgotten that little fact when we were fighting that bastard Grimmjow". Hichigo explained. I snickered as I walked forward in between them.

"Well, looks like you both got it down". I said smugly. They both looked at me in confusion, Hichigo's face then took a surprised look before rolling his eyes. He must have remembered what I was talking about.

"Yeah, whatever". Hichigo said. I grinned at Ichigo.

"Hollify". I said to him.

"What"? He said in confusion. I shook my head in humor.

"Since you're in your inner world, it's easier to use your powers in here. Isolate your hollow energy and summon you mask on your face". I explained. He nodded as he stepped back. Hichigo walked off, and I stepped back from him. I hoped that Shiva wasn't hurting fully hollified Ichigo in the outside world.

I watched as Ichigo's reiatsu rose as he channeled his hollow energy into his body. He focused it until his mask appeared on his face. He stood there for a moment with his eyes closed as he got used to the feeling of being in his regular hollified state.

He then opened his eyes and looked at me. I saw excitement in his now black/gold eyes. I shunpoed forward and hugged him excitedly.

"You did it! I'm so proud of you! You're now officially a true shadow shinigami". I said as Ichigo wrapped his arms around me.

"Yeah". His hollified voice said in bewildered happiness. I looked up at him and smiled before lifting up his mask to kiss him on his lips. After a short while we both broke the kiss at the same time to catch our breaths. I giggled and mussed up his hair.

"Well, now we need to get out of here. You're body is fully hollified outside. Once you re-enter your body, your hollowfied body will crumble and you will have nothing but your mask on your face left. Then, we'll begin your time extension training". I said as I leaned against him. His mask disintegrated and he nodded to me. I leaned up and kissed him once more before forcing him to wake up.

I then used Zangetsu as the bridge to get back to my own body from Ichigo's inner world. I opened my eyes to see a fully hollified Ichigo standing in front of me about to release a cero.

Ichigo as a hollow sort of looked like an overly muscled land dragon. He had a long tail that looked like it was dipped in fresh blood with squiggly marks on it as well as matching marks on his arms and legs. His claws were similar to mine, but with ridges on the knuckles.

His hair had grown out seriously long, but was still spiky, and he had two sets of large horn-like protrusions coming from his shoulders and back. His feet had three claws on it like mine, but were huge and much longer than mine, but what really got me though was the mask.

It wasn't fully formed. His body was completely covered in his hierro, but his right eye was left exposed with the mask looking like it was broken and incomplete. This confused me, but I didn't really have time to think about it when Ichigo's hollified body began to break apart. I pulled my wings forward and clung to the ground with my claws dug into the rock.

The huge explosion that followed shook the ground like an earthquake. I felt rocks pummel my wings as the energy dispersed. When the dust settled I stood up to see Ichigo standing there. His hollow form still there; cracked and lifeless. The shell broke apart and fell to the ground, making the sounds of shattering glass as it did so.

Ichigon stood there with his hollows mask on his face. His eyes were closed because I couldn't see his gold irises through the holes in the mask. He then fell forward as the toll of the battle in both his inner world and in this world took it's affect on his body. He landed on his knees before landing face down on the ground. I stepped forward and stood over Ichigo.

When he fell, his mask had fallen off his face and landed face up on the ground beside his Tensa Zangetsu. Seeing someone go through this transformation again reminded me of how I don't remember going through the same thing with I acquired my mask. I pushed the thought away as I smiled down at Ichigo. I felt Hachi's barrier break apart as he released it. I watched as Ichigo looked up at me with a smirk as sweat dripped down his face.

"How do you feel Ichigo"? I asked.

"Not bad. Not bad at all". He said with a smile. I leaned down to help him up. Even though he hadn't acquired any wounds, he'd used up a massive amount of reiatsu while in both battles. I placed his arm around my shoulders and lifted him to his feet. He paused for a second and grabbed his zanpakuto. Then we both walked to the vizards.

"Not bad Dominique". Shinji said. I looked at Kensei because he always took the time.

"What was our time"? I asked him.

"Forty-five minutes and fifty-two seconds". I nodded.

"Nice. That was better than the last one I watched". I said as I remember the kid who ended up being a vizard while I trained with the vizards. His name was Justin Beiber, and he was currently assigned with section 14 in Canada. Yes,** that **Justin Beiber, that all the girls ages 8-18 practically swoon over for. I mean, why else would he still look like he hadn't gone through puberty. He was really 18 now, even though everyone thought he was like 16, he looks like he's still twelve though. Hehe.

He ended up not getting along with his hollow, so he suppressed it completely during his training. He was a shrimpy punk who looked like a pre-pubescent girl in my opinion. After that little though I turned back to Ichigo, who looked like he was about to fall asleep on his feet. I grinned at him as I led him up to the stairs to get him to take a nap to replenish his reiatsu levels.

I set him down on his futon and he went back into his body. I re-entered my own and started listening to my MP3 as Ichigo slept. I would wake him up in an hour or so to get him back to his training. For now though, I let him sleep. I laid my own head down on my pillow and knocked out happily.

Me: Well that chapter is done. Let's get onto the next one soon!

Shiva: Woohoo!

Me: I'm getting a bit sad though...

Shiva: Why?

Me: Nobody is freaking reviewing! WAAAAAH! SOB!

Shiva:...

Me: I'm not doing good enough am I? If that's the case then please voice your opinions. It's better than the silent treatment.

Shiva: At least Ultima-Owner reviews.

Me: Yeah, he's been the only one to review for a couple chapters now. *Sniffle*

Shiva: Don't start up the water works again please I'm begging you.

Me: Fine. *Pout*

Shiva: Well I guess that's better than the sob fest. Sigh. I don't get paid enough to do this job.

Me: Why don't you go hang with Dominique then?

Shiva: Wait...you're not Dominique?

Me: No, I'm Jade.

Shiva: Wow, I could have sworn...

Me: Duffus.

Shiva: Bitch.

Dominique: Shut up, I'm sleeping here! (Knocks them both on the head before going back to bed)

Me and Shiva: ...!

Breaking Out or Breaking Down by Bullet for my Valentine

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	25. Prelude to War

Me: Well let's get onto the next chapter shall we? Sorry It's a bit late, I had to go to FFA camp. It was so much fun!

Shiva: We own-!

Mimie: They own nothing!

Shiva and me: ...(Sweat drop)

Me: Well...I guess let's get on with it...err...

Mimie: Action! (Dissappears again)

Me: What a weird girl.

Shiva: Yeah.

Me: Oh yeah! It's finally summer too! I graduated from high school! Hecks yeah! **:D**

Shiva: But now you gotta go to college. **:P**

Me:...Damn. **T_T**

Oh and thank you to drmona lord, Shimigamix, Shadowfyre913, Pinkrose1122, and ultima-owner for giving me reviews on the last chapter!

**Chapter 25: Prelude to War**

Ichigo's POV

"Grraaaaaa"! The roar came from both Dominique and myself as we clashed again. She banked to the left as I swung my Zangetsu at her head. I was learning not to hold back against her, otherwise I would not be actually aiming to kill her. I found that I didn't have to try so hard to hold back though when my mask was on my face. The power flowed through me in a strangely exhilarating, yet terrifying way.

She dodged the hit and shot away from me about twenty feet. Her lithe body easily manuvering away from me. I tensed and prepared for her move that was sure to come at me. She crouched low to the ground, her Zangetsu in her right hand, facing towards me.

I watched as Dominique charged at me again, her own mask on her face. Her eyes glittered darkly at me from behind the holes in her mask, the same exact color as mine. I twisted my body around and dodged her in midair. I realized that it was the same thing I'd done when I'd fought with Kenpachi to dodge his blade when we'd been in the Soul Society.

I managed to move behind her through the air, then I landed a foot squarely between her shoulder blades, and kicked hard. I sent her flying away from me and into the ground some fifty feet away.

I heard a sharp hiss escape her mouth and for the slightest of seconds I worried that I'd really hurt her. She jumped back up in a blurred movement and the worry left me in an instant. I lowered back into a crouch of my own. I don't know why I did this, but it felt natural to do so. My right hand gripped my zanpakuto and my left hand was free to grab or block any oncoming attacks.

Dominique also lowered back into a crouch that mirrored my own. I looked at her eyes and saw that they held seriousness, but I also saw humor there as well.

_'She must be having fun'._ I thought to myself as I initiated the next clash. Instead of trying to hit her with my blade like she'd been expecting me to I grabbed onto her shihakusho with my left hand and pulled her towards me, about to throw her up into the air for the second part of the strike. She quickly went to counterattack, but I was ready for that as well...or so I thought.

My mask broke...again.

"Dammit". I snarled in frustration as my body nearly collapsed from fatigue. I knew that I was nowhere near done yet though. Dominique was now grabbing on to me to keep me standing up as the energy left my body. She'd remained hollified the entire time.

"Wow, that was a good time. I think that was ten seconds". She said in her hollified voice. I panted as I tried to regain my strength.

"How many times was that"? I asked between breaths. She cocked her head to the side in concentration.

"I believe that was your tenth time consecutively summoning your mask without rest". She said with a smile in her voice. I grinned. I had gone from six seconds to ten within a day.

"Tell me the truth Dominique. Am I really getting stronger". I asked out of the blue. She moved her hand up and touched her mask to make it vanish in a mask of swirling darkness. Then she smiled at me before setting me down near a water spicket to grab a wash cloth and wet it with some water. She handed it to me.

"Yes. You are. It's been only about two days since you first summoned your mask at will for the first time. You've already increased your time by eight seconds from your starting time. I really think that you are improving at a good speed". She said before digging through her hakama to grab her soul phone. She opened it up and shut it quickly.

"What"? I asked.

"It's a little after eleven. I think we can call it a night for now. Tomorrow you will be training with Hiyori. She was the one who volunteered to fight you first. I think she said something about wanting to finish your fight from earlier that I interrupted". She said with a shrug of her shoulders as she cupped some of the water in her hand. She splashed it on her face and on the back of her neck. I on the other hand, swallowed a lump in my throat.

"How does Hiyori fight"? I asked cautiously. She turned to look at me.

"Don't worry, you shouldn't get too badly injured. Though she is known to become more aggressive the longer the fight is drawn out. So that means try to either knock her out or stay on the defensive". She said while giggling.

I soon felt strong enough to stand up on my feet. I felt sore, but in a good way; like my muscles were really stretching for the first time. This felt right and I could feel the strength building deep inside of me. But not just me though, Zangetsu and Hichigo too. I'd never felt like this before, even when I trained with Urahara, and Yoruichi I'd never felt in my element, but training with Dominique this way, it felt right.

At the mention of fighting the blonde snaggle toothed chick earlier I felt a cold sweat break out on my face. She, unlike Dominique I knew wouldn't hold back. Not to mention she'd want to get back at Dominique, so she'd do it through me.

"Great". I mumbled as I walked up the huge staircase to get some shuteye. Dominique yawned as well as she shoved open the door. The vizards had long gone up into the warehouse hours ago to go to sleep. I smelled something good in the air and looked towards Dominique. I saw her lick her lips and started running over to the table where we had dinner earlier.

When she got a about fifteen feet from the table she stopped running and started creeping to the table. She stepped lightly and I noticed that her glance kept going back Kensei. I remembered that he was the guy who did the cooking.

Dominique grabbed a plate and filled it with several pieces of food from the left over containers. After she filled the plate she began creeping back over to where I was. She made it over to me and we both walked to where we slept.

She let out a loud sigh as she plopped down on our futon. I sat down by her side and looked at her questioningly.

"What, I'm hungry, I'm sure you are too". She said as she showed the two pairs of chopsticks she swiped from the table. She passed me a pair and we both began eating the food.

"Why did you have to sneak the food away from the table"? I asked after I finished a bite of chicken that had been the last of the food on the plate. She giggled as she set the plate off to the side of the futon and looked at me.

"Kensei's the one who cooks, but he's military styled, so when dinners over, that means no more food. Period. No exceptions. I learned a while back though how to sneak more food after they all went to sleep". I smirked at her.

"You are a little devil in an angel's body aren't you"? I said as I tackle hugged her onto our bed. She willingly let me move on top of her, but then she did a 180 on me and flipped us over to where she was lying on top of me. She nuzzled her face into my neck and sighed contently. I leaned against her and felt myself begin to drift off into sleep.

I managed to stay awake long enough to see Dominique's sleeping form completely relax on me. I shifted her so that her head was on her pillow and we were still touching. I looked at her face and saw that she was smiling contently in her sleep. I held her close to me and went into the abyss of dreams.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

I woke up the next morning to Ichigo's arms around me. He'd moved me onto my side and put my head on my pillow. He made sure that I'd been comfortable. I smiled at him as I kissed his forehead. He surprised me though by cupping my face and kissing my lips. A giggle escaped my lips.

"So I guess that means you're awake huh"? I asked quietly as Ichigo's fingers ran through my hair, which felt totally good. And that's coming from the girl who doesn't let anybody touch her hair. The things I let this boy do. Hehe.

"Yeah. I guess I'm awake". He said sleepily. I snuggled against him for a moment before getting up.

"Well let's get to it. Here comes another day of training". I said excitedly. I led Ichigo to the food table. I placed the dish and the chopsticks in the sink that thankfully had dirty dishes in it already so my theft from last night wouldn't be noticed. The last time Kensei caught me sneaking food I'd had to do a ten mile run in an hour. Of course I'd failed since he made me do it in my body. That ended up with me not getting anything to eat for three days.

Since that happened, I was super careful when I stole food from the table. Everybody was busy talking to each other and greeting Ichigo that they didn't notice me putting the dishes in the sink. I then quickly went to stand beside Ichigo.

"You ready Hiyori"? She glared at me like she normally did.

"That's Ms. Hiyori". I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever...Hiyori". She growled and tried to hit me. I put my arm up and placed my palm on her forehead to keep her from hitting me. She was getting more and more pissed, which was a good thing. She would take her anger out on Ichigo, thereby forcing him to give his all.

_'All according to planned'._

_'This sure is fun'._ Shiva said with a mental smirk.

_'Exactly'._ Hiyori was still trying to reach me, but since I was now taller than her she couldn't touch me.

"Shouldn't you be taking your anger out on Ichigo"? I said loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone including Hiyori froze and silenced. Then she smirked evilly.

"You're right. Baldy's gonna get the pounding of his life". She said as she started making her way to the underground training field. Ichigo gave me a look that clearly said traitor. I simply smiled angelically. He'd been right last night, I was a little devil in an angel's body. It sure as hell made life more fun. I followed the rest of the vizards and Ichigo underground as well.

We soon situated ourselves and Ichigo and Hiyori began attacking Ichigo once she summoned her own mask. Ichigo summoned his mask, but was thrown back instantly by a strong kick from Hiyori.

By fighting against Hiyori he would learn to speed up his reaction times while still lengthening his hollification time through Hiyori's impatient nature. Not to mention, it was sure to be entertaining to say the least.

After a couple hours we ate lunch and Ichigo took a short break. Not to mention that he was last in line so that meant that he had to do the dishes. It was hilarious to see him wearing an apron. I also took this time to talk with Love and Rose (Yes they're dudes.) about the latest music and manga. I listened to some good music from Rose, and Love showed me the latest issue of Shonen Jump.

After a while though I soon gravitated back to watch Ichigo fight Hiyori. My eyes widened as I felt an energy signature approaching the warehouse. I shut my eyes and focused on the reiatsu. I was confused as I recognized Orihime's reiatsu heading our way.

I looked around and saw that everyone was doing one thing or another. Hachi and Shinji were talking while Kensie and Mashiro were bickering as usual. I felt Orihime enter into the warehouse, but I wasn't the only one. Hachi looked back with a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong Hachi"? Shinji asked him.

"Someone just slipped through my force field". The vizards looked at him in shock.

"A soul reaper"? Love asked. I shook my head and stood up. They looked at me questioningly, I looked towards the entrance to the underground training room and smiled as I walked towards it.

"What's up Dominique"? Rose asked. I looked back at them and laughed.

"Don't worry. We just have a visitor is all. Watch". I said as Orihime stepped onto the stairway. She looked down at all of us and gasped in shock.

"Dominique"? She said in surprise. I smiled up at her in greeting.

"Hiya Orihime. What's up"? After I asked that Ichigo crashed at my side.

"Ow. Fuck that hurts. Crap". Ichigo cursed under his breath as he got back up. Ichigo looked at me and then noticed who I was looking at.

"We got a visitor". I said cheerily. At that time Orihime noticed Ichigo.

"Ichigo"! She said in much the same way she called my name.

"Orihime"? Ichigo said. I sighed.

"Well now that we have all the name calling down, shall we perhaps find out why our friend is here"? I said to Ichigo as I walked over to Orihime. I drug Ichigo with me and brought Orihime over to a flat place where we could sit. She then proceeded to tell us about what had happened. I felt my face grow more and more serious as she continued her explanation.

Once she was finished, she looked at us expectantly. Ichigo was looking seriously at the landscape we were in. I on the other hand was making plans for telling Captain Rose about the situation. This was majorly bad.

_'The Oken. We're in some deep shit now. I thought that Aizen would just try something on the Soul Society, but no. His dumbass self is going to try to murder the Reio. This really is our problem now. Squad 0 will have no choice but to get involved with this mess. And more than just me and my section. Our entire squad will have to assemble for this'._ I thought seriously to myself.

_'We'll have to tell Rose and Sero as soon as possible'._ Shiva thought. I agreed with her. I was brought out of my thoughts to Ichigo talking to Orihime.

"Thanks for the heads up Orhime. Don't worry. We'll stop Aizen. Just you wait". He said as he stood back up. I stood up as well.

"That's right Orhime. We got this". I said as I turned to follow Ichigo.

"Alright! Let's get back to training Hiyori"! Ichigo said as he stretched his muscles.

"That's Ms. Hiyori to you dumbass"! She yelled back at him. I snickered and looked back to see Orihime run back up the stairs to the warehouse. I then walked back to where the other vizards were sitting around.

"Who in the hell was that girl"? Kensei growled at me. I waved him away.

"That was one of my friends; Orihime". Then Shinji spoke up.

"She was my first love". He said in a wistful tone.

"Liar". Both Kensie and I said at the same time. I just happen to toss a rock at his head for added effect. He glared at me for a moment as Lisa spoke up.

"You say that about all the pretty girls. You even said it about me once". Lisa said. Rose looked at her in doubt. I snickered.

"You even said it about me too. I believe I hit you over the head with a boulder for it when you did". I said as I remembered that time from my training. Hiyori then began yelling at Shinji, saying how he'd never said that to her. Then Ichigo yelled at her to stay focused as he slashed down at her. I snickered at the hilarity of the situation. I then looked over at Hachi and Love as they talked about his barriers.

_'He must be wondering about how she slipped through his force field'._ I thought to myself.

"Don't worry about it Hachi. Her powers are similar to yours. Though her Kotenzashun was damaged during a fight not too long ago". I said as I remembered her Tsubaki getting destroyed when she tried to protect Chad during the first arrancar invasion. Hachi nodded at me and I glimpsed a grin on his face. I let a grin form on my own face as I walked over to go fight alongside Ichigo and Hiyori.

Later on that night Hachi called over Hiyori and sent her to fetch Orihime. She zoomed off to get her and Ichigo had a short time to rest. I sat down by him and shared a bento that Mashiro got from the store downtown.

When Hiyori got back with Orihime, Hachi began talking with her and soon fixed her Shunshunrikka. She then left and I noticed that she seemed happier than she had been earlier.

Hiyori and Ichigo were now going at it again. My curiosity was getting the better of me so I walked over to Hachi and asked what had happened to Orihime earlier.

"Urahara spoke with her and told her that she wouldn't be fighting in the front lines in the upcoming war". He said seriously. I nodded. She was a decent fighter, karate wise at least, as well as her ability to block and heal with her shields. She wasn't really meant for battle though. I myself enjoyed fighting and a good battle, but her personality just didn't suit for the harsh reality of battle.

I'd seen death and destruction. Not as much as some of the older members, but enough to know that battle wasn't all just fun and games. Especially when the lives of innocents were involved. I'd dealt with hollow invasions and a couple fights with vasto lordes. The only reason why I was able to take out a hollow without feeling guilty about killing them was the fact that they weren't really dying.

The memories ran though my mind as I watched Ichigo train with Hiyori until around midnight. At that time I called them off and everyone went back up to the warehouse to get some sleep. Ichigo zonked out almost immediately after his head hit the pillow. He even started to snore softly which was so kawaii. I stayed awake though.

I waited for everyone to fall asleep before I carefully stood up. I walked away from mine and Ichigo's futon to make my way back down to the training ground. I took in a deep breath to ground myself. I lifted my right hand up in front of me.

"When light and darkness cross, a new entity is born, the shadows. Darkness and light's struggle is never ending. The shadows are the medium. 98 captains ago, shadows of shinigami came to end the struggle between the three realms. Soul Society, Earth, and Hueco Mundo separated in harmony. Open the gate to the world beyond the realms I command thee as I say my name; Dominique Kudo". The chant fell easily from my lips as a shiver ran up my spine from the familiar spell.

Shadows swirled around my hand and flew from my fingertips. They spread out into a door shaped portal, where all you could see beyond was darkness. You could even see the tendrils of darkness coming from the door, as if welcoming you in. I smiled and stepped through the threshold.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I felt like I was falling for a few moments before the portal opened to show a beautifully lit plaza. I stepped from the portal and into the realm of squad 0, my home. I looked around at the familiar Central Plaza.

There were Japanese lanterns hung up from the large trees that lit up the place with a soft glow. The ground was paved with multihued stones where the paths were. There was bright green grass and flowers everywhere too. Stone benches and water fountains dotted the place.

There were a few people that hung out around the fountains or under trees. Mostly they talked amongst themselves or read under the light of the lanterns. I smiled happily as I felt the same sense of returning home fill me as the cool night air caressed me gently.

I turned to the work building that was used as the barracks and for other purposes that dealt with our line of business and shunpoed over to the humongous structure. I made it to the gate and it opened up silently for me. I stepped inside and saw a familiar face who just happened to be leaving the building.

"Venna"! I said as I ran up to the leader of section seven and one of my close friends.

"Dominique"! She said in happy surprise as she hugged me. I hugged back.

"It's been what, nine months since I'd last seen you"? I said.

"Ja! It's been a long time since we talked. How are things in Japan"? She asked in her thick German accent.

"They're good. I've got a boyfriend now". She looked at me blankly for a moment before grabbing me in another tight hug.

"That's soooo sweet! I'm so happy for my little cousin from America"! She said as she bounced up and down, taking me with her in her excitement. Thankfully though she released me and I smiled at her. She called me her cousin because I was 1/8th German. I was mixed with just about everything. Apache, Cherokee, German, Polish, Irish, Scottish, French, British, Canadian, and I believe that there was even some Hawaiian there somewhere too.

"Yeah. I'm here to give a report to Captain Rose on what's going on the the World of the Living where I've been staying". I said to Venna seriously. She nodded, her blonde curls bouncing as her green eyes glowed in excitement.

"Ja. You know that you have a lot of paperwork to do as well". I groaned and facepalmed myself. I absolutely hated paperwork.

"Yeah. I'll get cracking on it asap". I said with a tired sigh. Venna giggled at my obvious distress.

"At least you didn't get to do all the paperwork I had to do after I had to assassinate Adolf Hitler. That man was a disgrace to my country. I had so much paperwork to do for Captain Rokuji. I swear, I'd rather spend a day fighting Hell's Will in Hell itself". She said while placing the back of her hand on her forehead, looking exhausted and flustered. It was all an act though, she was a brilliant actress.

"Yeah. Well, see ya later. I've got to deliver my report and get some of that damn paperwork done before sunrise. I still have a trainee to tend to in the World of the Living you know". I said with a smirk. She smiled at me and mussed up my hair.

"Bye bye then"! She said as I smacked halfheartedly at her hand as she continued to mess up my hair. She then turned and began walking out the gates and into the plaza. I then began making my way down to where Section 13's area was while trying to futilely fix my hair. The door to the room was decorated with our symbol, an incomplete infinity symbol within the normal symbol that the thirteen court guard squads used outside of their squad numbers.

The symbol represented that nothing ever last forever, that change would always happen. Like with America, the country of constant change. America is known throughout the world as the cultural melting pot. I myself was a perfect example of that. I had so many different types of races that made up my genetic makeup, the only true race I could call myself in human standards was American. I was mixed with so many different cultures it wasn't even funny.

Perfection, forever, always; such words were idiotic. Everything must have an end and things must always change. We may not like it, but who gives a damn. To me change was fun. Made life more interesting, that's for sure.

I thought of these things as I opened the door and stepped into the office portion of it. I looked reluctantly to my desk and saw the huge ass pile of papers. A thick wave of depression fell over me.

_'Emo corner here I come'._ I thought to myself with a sigh. I held myself up by putting a hand on the wall as my head dropped in despair. I would have carpel tunnel by the end of this. I sat down at the desk and grabbed a fresh pen from the drawer. At least we had pens instead of ink brushes like the Soul Society. Nothing would ever get done if we did it the old fashion way.

I wish we'd go to computers though. Then again, it would be so easy for people to hack into stuff and make a mess, so I guess this was the best way. Even though I hated it. I sat up strait and set to work. Three hours passed slowly. I managed to get at least a third of the stack finished and submitted. I would have to come back another night. I had only a couple of hours more before I had to head back and get an hour's sleep.

I stood up and headed towards the door. I paused though, feeling something for the first time that didn't seemed right here. With my mind so focused on the paperwork I hadn't noticed the other presence in the area. I looked to one of the siding doors that led to the section 13's training dojo. My eyes narrowed and I made my way to the other door. I opened it quietly and saw a tall boy leaning against a dummy hollow punching bag, sleeping.

I recognized him from the short dirty blonde hair and the reiatsu that seeped off of him. Anger flashed through me as I realized that the person who was sleeping in **my** dojo was Johnathan Fail.

Johnathan Fail was a nomad. Nomads were shadow shinigami who lived on their own, coming and going as they please. Most are pretty cool, I even thought that I'd become one for a couple decades after my hundredth birthday or something. That was a long ways away so it wasn't concrete. Johnathan though, wasn't a nomad you wanted to be around.

He was once a part of section thirteen when I first joined squad 0. He'd been second in command before under Marlow Tenson; the previous leader of section thirteen before me. The old leader offered me his place if I could pass the leader's test.

Marlow had tested me and I came out victorious. Johnathan hadn't liked that, he'd wanted to be leader. This happened within the first year of me joining squad 0. After I became leader on my thirteenth birthday, he left and became a nomad. Before that though, he'd constantly hit on me. Asking me to go out on dates with him, to have sex with him, and to marry him, and a bunch of other things I hit the crap out of him for.

I'd always had a bad feeling about the guy. He was a tool. He didn't see girls as individuals who deserved respect, he saw them as conquest, to see how fast he could get into their pants. Truly, he disgusted me. He had no sense of personal space, I'd hit him in the balls several times. Never seemed to work though.

He flirted with me on a daily basis, and when I became section leader he opposed my promotion. He tried to say that a female wasn't the right person for the job. I spoke with Rose and she told him that he either had to follow my orders or leave. He chose the latter option.

After he left, I didn't hear from him again. My section ended up only consisting of me, until Emma and Shaun joined up with squad 0. Soon Claire and Brandon also joined for their shifter abilities. Rose had told me that it was up to me if they could join the squad, that many others were also squad members. I welcomed them in with open arms.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a particularly loud snore from Johnathan. I scowled and walked into the room. He would tell me of his business here and then leave asap.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Johnathan"? I asked loud enough to wake him up. He blinked for a second before looking up at me blearily. He smirked at me before standing up. He walked up to me and looked down at my face while placing his right hand on my shoulder. I charged up my body with reiatsu and blasted his hand away with a reiatsu barrier.

"Well it seems like some things never change. I thought I'd get a welcome back kiss from my little Dirty-D-Money". He said with his usual perverted grin. A tick mark appeared on my face. That damn nickname again! He'd given that name to me when I'd first joined section thirteen. He was such a wannabe gangster. It made me sick.

"I thought I told you to never call me that. I'm not dirty, nor am I some wannabe gangster". I said between clenched teeth as I glared at him. He smirked at me.

"Oh, seems someone's a bit testy this morning. I just wanted to come see my girl. What's it been now, almost three years now"? At this I snorted.

"HA! Your girl! Only in your sick and twisted dreams maybe. I told you years ago, I'll never go with you. One: you're too old for me, 400 years is way too old, two: I can't stand you, and now I have a third reason: I'm already taken". I said smugly as I crossed my arms over my chest. His face darkened.

"Taken, you? Really? Who in their fucked up mind would go out with a little tomboy like you? You're definitely not the dating type. Not to mention, you're just not that pretty". He said with venom in his voice. I only smirked wider. I could deal with insults very easily.

"I'm surprised you don't already know. I mean, you are the great Shadow Snake of the Mississippi. You're supposed to be the one who knows all the dirt on everyone". I said with sarcasm in my voice. He twitched at that.

"I'll kill the motherfucker myself. Then you'll be mine". He seethed. I glowered at this. I refused to be talked to like I was a piece of property to be won. Not to mention he just threatened to kill Ichigo! Time for some ass kicking.

"First of all: you're not killing anyone. Second: I'll never be yours, and third: I think I'll ban you from this section permanently. I was tempted to do so before when you attacked me that first time. I think it's time you learned your place". I said as my reiastu rose with my anger. My lips rose in my anger, exposing my teeth.

"Oh and just how are you going to do that you short little twerp"? He asked with a challenge in his voice. I looked up at him with anger in my eyes.

"A Leaders Match. Five rounds of combat. Three out of five wins it". I said with determination.

"When shall we do this"? He asked with a smirk.

"A week from now. Midnight". I said as I began walking away. He laughed.

"Prepare yourself then. I've never lost a fight". He said as I paused at the door. I turned my head to him only so far as for him to see the smirk on my face.

"Neither have I". I said as I walked from the door, sliding it shut behind me.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I quickly walked down the hallway to the seated officers area of the barracks. I walked up to the captain's quarters. I opened the door that had both the squad 0 insignia and the flower badge on it as well. I stepped into the lightly lit room and saw Rose sitting in her beanbag chair, munching on a chocolate bar as she read a Shonen Jump magazine.

She paused mid-bite as I opened the door. I smirked at her and she jumped up from her seat.

"Dominique! Hiya"! she said as she went to her mini fridge to grab some soda cans. Every time I come by she knows we have to have our sugar and caffeine. She tossed me a can of coke and grabbed another beanbag chair for me to sit in. I put the soda down and sat in the comfy chair. The thing when squish under me and I leaned back in it as I got comfy.

"Sup Rose"? I said calmly as I opened the coke. I took a sip as she talked.

"What's up? How's training? Have you found out any new info? Any bodies that you need help burying"? She randomly babbled. I shook my head at her hyperness.

"Just how many sodas and candy bars have you had tonight"? I asked.

"Oh just about twenty sodas and thirty Hershey bars, and a couple of Recees cups too". She said as she munched on her chocolate. I shook my head once again. That girl could put away some serious junk food.

"I've come to give a report about something new I found out about Aizen's plans". That was when the child-like look left Rose's face and became serious.

"What is it"? She said seriously.

"He's going after the Reio". Rose's eyes widened before she munched on the chocolate. Leave it to Rose to lighten up any mood.

"This really does involve us then". She murmured.

"Yes. He's going to use Karakura Town to create the Oken. The Jureichi has moved to be directly within Karakura Town, that's why all the hollows and the wholes have been attracted to the place. Then he's going to use the Oken to enter the Royal Realm to try and murder the Reio". I said seriously. Rose stood up suddenly, her haori swishing with her movements.

She walked to her desk, and punched in several keys on the keypad on the side of the desk. A hologram screen popped up and she began typing on it. Rose then spoke to me as she continued to tap the hologram.

"How long have you known about this"? She asked.

"About ten hours now. The Soul Society just found out themselves. They were the ones who told me about this". I said.

"Well at least Old Man Yama's cooperating for once". She said with slight sarcasm in her voice. After a few short minutes she shut down the hologram and walked back up to me.

"Have you put in an order for something"? I asked in curiosity.

"Yes. I've asked for help in sending some of the squad members to the Royal Realm to protect the family. I've got the rest of the leaders and the scattered officers on alert and readying for battle. I've sent out messages for them to send me any information they know about the situation". She explained. I nodded.

"If you don't mind Rose, I need to get back to the World of the Living to return to training Ichigo. I also have a Leaders Match next week". I said seriously. Rose looked at me in surprise.

"You have a Leaders Match? Who in the hell is stupid enough to go against you for your title"?

"Johnathan Fail". I said simply. She shook her head in disappointment.

"That annoying idiot's going to get his ass killed one day. I'm still surprised he's lived 400 years as it is". She said with a sigh. I sighed as well.

"It can't be helped now I guess". I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

"You better not lose. Not only would you lose your status as section thirteen's leader, you'd also lose accreditation as being my first apprentice. Don't let that fool get the better of you. After all, the snake will always lose to the dragon". I smirked as I turned and strode out the door.

"Of course. I don't intend to lose. I intend to make him eat dirt after I smash his face into the ground". I said as I entered the hallway. I walked out into the plaza and noticed that the sky was lightening up already. Sunrise was fast approaching. I'd spent more time here than I'd originally planned to. I sighed as I opened a portal and stepped through to the World of the Living.

Me: Another chapter done people!

Shiva: Onto the next one!

Me: I'm working on getting a job now, as well as online college. Ugh, there's so much to do. It sort of sucks being out of high school when you think of all the crap you gotta do once you get out.

Shiva: Well life sucks anyway. What can you do?

Me: Roll with the punches and kick some ass.

Shiva: Well while she tries that approach, we hope you send in your reviews.

Me: Oh yeah! Thank you soooooo much for the reviews last chapter! They made me so happy! These six people get special internet cookies and other goodies from me.

This Means War by Nickleback

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	26. Leaders Match and First Hunt

Me: Well It's summer time! Wooohoooo!

Shiva: Hells yeah!

Me: So let's kick off this summer with some hollow hunting.

Shiva: We own nothing of course.

Me: On with the show!

I give a shout out to all of the reviewers for the last chapter and the earlier ones that my new readers reviewd on: Thunder Claw 03, Pinkrose1122, Alex Spotlight, TheTygersSereneChaos, The guest reviewer, and of course Ultima Owner who blasted Hsage away again but this time Team Rocket style. Thanks for all the great reviews guys! They made me so happy!

**Chapter 26: Leaders Match and First Hunt**

Dominique's POV

I stepped onto the ground in the underground training room, thinking that I'd made it back undetected. I stretched my stiff muscles, trying to get rid of the pain in my neck from bending it down so long while looking at papers. I was about to let out a loud yawn when another person's presence made themselves known.

"Hey". A voice came from a few feet from behind me.

"EEP"! I squeeked as I recognized it instantly as Ichigo's voice. I could have sworn I'd jumped about two feet in the air without even using shunpo. I looked around to see Ichigo leaning against a boulder casually.

"Where've you been"? He asked with a smirk on his face.

"Uhh...the barracks". I said as I scratched the back of my head. He began walking towards me until he towered over me.

_'Stupid tallness...still hot though, I guess that whole tall guy = hot guy thing was right...SHUT UP DAMN HORMONES'!_ The jumbled thoughts ran through my mind as I looked up at Ichigo.

Me+sleepyness+paperwork+boyfriend+hunger+aggitation from other idiot boy=me not thinking strait at all.

"Why didn't I get to go"? He looked heatedly at me. I blanched at that. The random thoughts fizzling out.

"Well um, I had to get some paperwork done and I had to tell Rose about what Aizen's planning. You know, about that stuff Orihime told us yesterday". I babbled as I looked up at him.

"I figured as much. Emma called a while ago, on your phone. It woke me up and that's when I noticed you weren't here. So I answered your phone and talked to Emma for a few minutes. After I finished talking with her I followed your reiatsu down here and waited for you to come back". He explained with a shrug of his shoulders. I nodded.

"Yeah. And there's one other thing that happened up at the barracks too". I said with a sweat drop.

"What"? I twiddled my fingers at his question.

"I got challenged to a Leaders Match". I noticed Ichigo's face go blank with confusion.

"What's that"? He asked.

"A Leaders Match is what happenes when another squad 0 member challenges a section leader to their title to their section". Ichigo's eyes widened.

"You could lose your title as leader of section thirteen if you lose"? He said in shock.

"Yes. But then again. I won't lose". I said with a smirk. The worry didn't leave his face. I chuckled as I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him, "Don't worry Ichigo. I won't lose no matter what. I'm not about to lose to some snake. After all I'm a dragon, and a dragon will never lose to a snake". I said as I kissed Ichigo on the cheek to reasure him.

He turned my head and kissed my lips. I would have been completely distracted by that, but I remembered something. Something important. Something that made my chest hurt badly. A familar haze filled my mind, and sadly it wasn't from Ichigo's kiss. I moaned as I broke away from his kiss.

"What is it Dominique. Is something wrong"? Ichigo asked worriedly. He really was a sweet guy. It made my heart thump happily at the kindness in his voice, but the hunger was growing. That was when I noticed that there was a hollow nearby, which was causing the feeling in the first place. My instincts knew it was there before I did.

_'No wonder I'm freaking hazing out. The last time I ate was when we were at Hilton Head. It's been way too long'._ I thought to myself. This was probably because I went to the barracks, where the reishi is so much denser in the air there than in the World of the Living. It caused my hunger to grow by going from a reishi rich enviorment to one with barely any at all.

Oh well. This would be a good lesson to teach Ichigo now. He'd have to eat sooner or later anyway if he had a hollow form. This was always a good way to find out if he had a hollow form in the first place.

"I need to eat". He looked at me in confusion.

"It's not breakfast time yet". He said innocently. I huffed, but smirked up at him.

"Not that type of food. The other kind". I said as I felt my eyes flash gold. My body wanted to change and hunt. Realization dawned in Ichigo's eyes and he nodded. I began walking towards the entrance to the underground training room. I looked back though when I didn't feel Ichigo following me.

"Well, come on. Lesson time. Plus you need to go on ahead and eat your first meal too. Otherwise you'll just get so hungry you'll eat a random hollow that comes near you". I explained. He nodded and began running up after me. We walked through the warehouse to where the barrier surrounded the compound. I didn't have time to wake up Hachi to take it down, so I put my right hand up to the barrier. The soul reapers could be on the hollow at any moment and I would lose my kill, I didn't have time to waste.

"Kage bakudo number 91, Ishi no kabe no doa (Four step barrier door)". I said as I drew a rectangle into the barrier with my fingertips. The four corners glowed brightly and the barrier opened. I stepped through and Ichigo quickly followed. I then transformed into my full hollow form and took off into the air as the barrier closed itself behind us.

Ichigo followed silently at a distance using shunpo.

I sniffed out the hollow and found it stalking a whole. I landed in front of the whole, who screamed at the sight of me. My instincts were beginning to cloud my mind completely. If I didn't send the whole away, it would become part of my meal. I forced myself to open a link with the whole though.

_'Get out of here. I'm saving you from the real monster who's been chasing you'._ I managed to get out before the hunger got out of control. I turned back to look at the hollow. This one snarled at me before running away on it's twelve scorpion-like legs.

I stopped for an instant to look back at Ichigo. I noticed Ichigo quickly konso the whole. I then charged towards the hollow who was now running away from a more powerful hollow, aka, me.

I rushed forward, my claws scraping against the concrete of the alleyway as I flat out ran after my prey. I let out a roar and pounced on the screeching hollow. I bit down on it's throat, though the carapass that made up it's insect like body. A very tiny part of my mind was making a joke about this being like the Lion King.

_'Slimy yet satisfying'._ Shiva said, even though I wasn't really paying attention anymore. The blood flowed down my throat along with the meat that instantly turned into energy as it neared my hollow hole in my body. This in fact, was how hollows eat. Whenever they eat something, it turnes into energy as it gets close to the hollow hole in the body as it tries to fill the hole.

I ate until I was able to regain my senses as the hunger indused haze left my mind. This one had been a very large hollow, with a good bit of power in it too. It filled me up much faster than that weak hollow from Hilton Head Island. I lifted my head from the body and looked at Ichigo. I noted that the hollow was still alive, even though it was halfway eaten, so it wouldn't last much longer.

When shadow shinigami eat hollows, the hollows only get purified after we've eaten the entire body or we finish it off with our zanpakuto. That or if the head gets eaten first, the body dissappears. It had something to do with the fact that our soul reaper energies mixed with the hollow energies inside of our bodies or something. Then again, I wasn't in the Department of Research and Development, so I didn't really care.

The blood continued to drip from my jaws as I looked at Ichigo. He surprisingly still didn't have a look of fear on his face. He was a bit strange on that part.

Even though I'd never seen anyone eat a hollow before I'd consumed my first hollow, I'd freaked out after I'd eaten it. I'd also hadn't had the convenience of my full hollow form when I'd done it too. I'd eaten the hollow when in my half hollow form, not exactly a plesant experience for a twelve year old to say the least.

Now though, I enjoyed my hunts. The thrill of the chase, the capture, and the energy that I get after I devour the hollows. It's like drinking six Monster energy drinks without the crashing side effect. A natural high, without the addictions, or withdrawels.

I walked up to Ichigo. I moved my muzzle to hang directly in front of his face before opening a link with him. The energy was buzzing through me nicely, and I felt the haze go away completely as my mind returned to it's alert state. I felt good, and Ichigo would feel like this two after he ate his first meal.

_'You okay'?_ I asked. It took a minute for him to answer.

"Yeah. I'm good". He said in a small voice. He was looking at the blood on my muzzle. I slipped out my tongue from in between my fangs and licked my jaws clean of the blood. Ichigo's eyes had become glazed and I felt his hollow reiatsu begin to surge undernieth his regular power. I changed into my soul reaper form and moved to stand next to Ichigo, still keeping an eye on his face.

He didn't look at me. Instead, he was focused on the half eaten hollow on the grass. His eyes had lightened from their normal chocolate brown to gold. I moved behind him and placed my hands on his shoulders as I leaned up to whisper in his ears.

"What do you feel like doing"? I whispered. A single, deep growl errupted from deep in his chest. This proved that he had a hollow form if he was acting this way. I knew that I should have gotten him to master his hollow form before setting him out to eat his first hollow though. His instincts were strong enough to command his body to eat now though, so I didn't have to worry. His mask formed itself on his face and he began lowering into a crouch.

"Go". I whispered, and released his shoulders gently. What surprised me though was that he shot up into the air. I stood there for a moment in utter shock before cursing. I grabbed my blade and quickly killed the half eaten hollow before zooming after Ichigo. I followed after him as he used sonido. His left hand was curled into claws while he had Zangetsu in his right hand.

I spread out my senses and found a strong hollow presence near here. The only bad thing was, there were soul reapers near it as well.

"CRAP"! I cursed loudly as I rushed to catch up with Ichigo. Stupid head start! I decided to intercept the soul reapers instead of going after Ichigo. He could handle himself until I got the soul reapers to leave.

I saw Ikkaku and Yumichika were heading towards the hollow. I sensed Ichigo's reiatsu already at the hollow's and was rising, which was a good thing. I shunpoed in front of the two men and blocked their way. Thankfully the hollow was out of sight range so Ichigo would be able to eat in peace.

"Get out of our way Dominique. There's a hollow over there, and we need the early morning exersise". Ikkaku said with a scowl. I shook my head and put a loose grin on my face.

"Don't worry Ikkaku. Ichigo's going to go fight the hollow. I was givin' him a break from his training today, but while we were heading out, the hollow showed up. We just decided to deal with it quickly since we were already here". I said as I waved to Ikkaku.

"Why do I feel the presense of two hollows now". He asked suspiciously. I shrugged my shoulders.

_'Shit'._ I played it off though with a kind smile.

"Don't worry about it. It's just probably another hollow that was lured here from the reiatsu. Ichigo can handle it. So go on back to wherever yall are staying at, we got this". I said casually.

"Fine. Whatever". Ikkaku said with a bored shrug before shunpo-ing off with Yumichika to their place. I stayed put in the air though to make sure they didn't come back even though they said they would leave. When they were a good enough distance away I began heading towards Ichigo.

When I got there I saw him fighting the hollow. His sword was left forgotten on the ground as he fought the hollow in hand to claw combat. The hollow already had chunks of it's arms and mask missing. I noticed that Ichigo's hands had also turned into claws, so that meant that he was beginning to hollify in order to consume the hollow.

_'Very good. But since he's not in control of himself, this won't count as his first controled transformation'._ I thought to myself as Ichigo ripped off another piece of the hollow's arm and swallowed it. His mask was covered in the hollow's blood, and by the way he moved, he was working on pure instinct.

Ichigo charged at the hollow again, and after ripping off another piece to devour, he full bodied tackled the hollow. I stepped down and landed beside him after he forced the hollow onto the ground.

He turned to look at me, and growled deeply to show his claim of his kill. I snarled back at him, but remained in a relaxed pose as my own mask appeared on my face instantly. He let out a hiss at me, but he relaxed as he recognized me as someone who wasn't a threat.

He ripped another piece of the hollow and swallowed it. Since my own hunger was sated, I felt no appeal to the hollow's blood. I left Ichigo to eat his fill until he stopped and straitened out of his crouch. He turned to look blankly at me with his black/gold eyes.

"Don't worry about it Ichigo. Relax. Now that you've eaten, you won't need to eat again for a couple months. It's only when you've been changing into your hollow forms a lot, will you need to eat more". I explained calmly to him. Then I remembered that he probably didn't understand me while in his hollow form at the moment. He only proved that thought more by not answering, the blank look still on his face.

He simply stood there and looked at me, I facepalmed myself at my forgetfullness. I walked up to him and placed my fingers gently on his mask. A low growl rummbled in his throat, then it died away as his mask broke apart on his face when I set a reiatsu pulse through it. I was left standing there with Ichigo as he changed back to normal.

"Dominique"? He asked as he looked down at the still struggling hollow.

"It's okay Ichigo".

"Did I do that"? He asked as he looked seriously at the dying hollow.

"Yes you did. Don't worry about it". I said this as I raised my Zangetsu, and slammed it directly into the hollows head without even looking at it, causing it to dissappear as Ichigo looked down at it. Then I smiled at Ichigo, who was still a bit dazed.

"I feel awesome. Is that normal"? Ichigo asked as the dazed look left his eyes completely. I nodded happily.

"Well, now that you've eaten. You'll now be able to access your hollow form more easily. Now though, I need to head back to the squad 0 realm, and you're coming with me. You need to go see what's there, and I need to try and finish the paperwork at my desk. It'll be fun". I said as I raised my arm out into the air. I called out the spell and the shadow gate opened. Two hell butterflies flew out and one attached to Ichigo. My own hell butterfly, Sen, landed on my forehead gently.

_'Hello again Lady Dominique'. _Sen said in it's non-voice voice. I smiled as Sen and Ichigo's hell butterfly began to fly towards the gate, leaving a black thread hanging in the air.

Ichigo looked at me questioningly and I grabbed the thread to show him what to do. Even though I didn't need to do this, Ichigo did. I felt the familiar pull and was quickly pulled into the rift. I looked back and saw Ichigo do the same. The next instant, we were in the squad 0 realm. I took in a deep breath and sighed happily. I looked back and saw Ichigo looking around in awe at the beautiful surroundings.

"Welcome to our true home Ichigo". I said happily as I motioned to the central plaza where we'd landed in.

Ichigo's POV

I looked around curiously. I noticed that Dominique seemed more relaxed here then back in the World of the Living. She turned to look back at me and smiled happily before walking forward. We walked down a cobblestone path through what seemed to be some sort of park. I saw other people hanging out around trees and the fountains that seemed to be everywhere.

There were both shadow shinigami and inner hollows everywhere. They each seemed to be relaxed as they interacted with one another. I began to feel myself relaxing as I began to feel like this really was a second home for me.

_'Home'._ Hichgio said as Dominique continued to lead me towards a set of huge buildings. My eyes widened. They were easily taller than the tallest skyscraper I'd ever seen, and they like a mix of all the worlds building styles put into one thing that wierdly balanced out.

Dominique led me up to a building with a pair of huge doors that had the symbol for squad 0 on it and it's name in several languages. I managed to find it's name in japanese and it was labled as the Barracks. I stared in amazement as Dominique walked up to the doors and lightly touched them. They swung open silently and we walked into a huge lobby that had gray marble floors with flecs of silver in it and a huge crystal chandaleire hanging over us.

"This is where we hold meetings, do paperwork, and manage finances, along with some other things here in squad 0. Pretty much, this is the place of work and buisiness". She said lightly as she walked towards a young woman who was sitting at a desk at another set of double doors. I also noticed that there were several bookshelves and overstuffed chairs scattered throughout the huge room.

When we approached the desk where the woman sat, she looked up and smiled at us. Dominique smiled back.

"Well hello Nique-Nique. How are you today"? The woman said kindly. Dominique giggled before answering.

"Hi Hana. I was in here earlier last night, but now I'm back with my trainee and my boyfriend Ichigo Kurosaki". Dominique said with pride underlying her voice. I felt her arms wrap around my waist as she hugged me tightly. I put my arms around her and hugged her back. Hana cooed at us. Surprisingly enough though, I wasn't emarassed at all.

"Well look at you! The little girl who showed up with Rose one day with two hollows and a zanpakuto who wouldn't even speak, now such a fine young woman. Ahh, to be young again". The woman trailed off as she looked at me curiously.

"Hello ma'am". I said politely. I bowed my head respectfully.

"Oh, he looks just like little Shirozanny! Wait, does that mean-"? She said in surprise and Dominique cut her off.

"Yes. Shirozangetsu was really Ichigo's inner hollow. I no longer have Shirozangetsu within my mind...unless Ichigo and I link". Dominique said with a smirk as she finished the sentence. I felt my face heat up, and I looked away.

"Well isn't this a plesant surprise. It's nice to meet you. I'm Hanabiki, vice chairman of business affairs and record keeping here at the barracks. It's a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Hana". She said happily.

"Well we got's to be going now Hana. We'll see you later". Dominique said as she led me to another set of huge doors. We walked into a large hallway and soon walked up to a noticably smaller door that had a symbol of a rose on the it, as well as what appeared to be a sideways s.

"What's this room"? I couldn't help but ask. Dominique giggled.

"This is section thirteen's office/dojo/barracks. This is where our affairs dealing with squad 0 and whatnot are dealt with by section 13 and it's members. I've got some paperwork to finish, but you can go train in the dojo". She said calmly as she opened the doors with ease. That was when we both saw a tall boy with black hair that covered one eye standing at her desk.

_'Who's that'?_ I thought to myself as Dominique smiled and walked up to him calmly. They grinned as they bumped fist.

"Sup Zork. Where's Kozo"? She asked the boy. The guy shrugged, his one visible red eye closed as he spoke in a bored tone.

"No clue really. You know how hollows can be. Always running off to do this, that, and who the hell knows what else. Just between us, I believe he's with Sero". He said with a smirk. Dominique gave a smirk of her own.

"Yes, well it is the new moon. I guess that Sero's in her usuall 'mood'". I heard Dominique say suggestively. I felt at that moment, that I truly didn't want to know the details of what they were mentioning.

"Yeah she is, but anyway, I was actually here to drop off some more documents that needed your signiture". He said with a smirk as Dominique groaned. Her hands went up to her face and covered it as she walked over to the desk with three large piles of papers on it. When she walked over to the desk she bent forward quickly and slammed her forehead into the desk loudly.

I winced at that. Zork laughed at her silently. She continued to bump her head into the desk. That was when Zork began laughing out loud.

"Uggggggghhhhhhhh". Dominique moaned at him angrily.

"Be thankful you don't have to do what I do kid. Us luietentants got three times as much as what you got. So quit your whining". Dominique lifted her head up and looked at him with a glare. Then she hissed at him. Zork just laughed and went to exit the office. He left and Dominique stood back up before walking over to the chair on the other side of the desk.

"Well let's get this over with. You can go through that door right there and train in the dojo. If you see a tall blonde dude though, tell me, and I'll make sure he gets the hell out of here". She said as she pointed to a pair of sliding doors. She sat down lazily in the chair and scooted up to the desk. She grabbed a pen and began quickly writing on the documents in front of her.

I walked towards the doors and opened them to a large room with a raised wooden floor. There were weapons hung on the walls, everything from maces, to katanas, to wooden swords. There were dummies that were made to look like people and hollows alike. There were also cabinets that lined the back wall with what I thought must be filled with more weapons or other things that would be needed to train.

_'Well, might as well train while I'm here'._ I thought to myself as I grabbed a wooden sword from a pile of them in the corner. I gripped the false blade tightly and looked at the dummie hollow in front of me. I set a smirk on my face as I charged.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Rose's POV

After Dominique had given me the report on Aizen's intentions to make the Oken, I set to work on getting everybody on full alert. I had each section prepare themselves to come to fight when the time came. Not to mention all of the other squad members were on high alert for the battle call.

But for now, I focused on Dominique's upcoming Leaders Match. After all, a section leader was very important within the squad. They were usually on the front lines, what with their constant battles with hollows in the world of the living. They were some of the strongest fighters in the whole squad.

As the week passed by, I kept an eye on things dealing with Dominique and her challenger Johnathan. I watched as she trained with Emma and Shaun after she brought them to the undergroud training the vizards used. I also watched how she prepared for each round of the combat that would be needed in the match.

Shuan did not train. From what I saw, he was very confident that he would win, and that his long life of experience would see him to victory. He didn't worry about brushing up his skills, or even really doing much of anything. Dominique though, was set for each of the five rounds of combat.

Each Leaders Match had five rounds. There was Hakuda and Hoho. The next was Kido, and then Zanjutsu with both shikai and bankai. The next one was fighting in hollified forms. Then the final round was an all out, anything goes battle.

Dominique continued with her training of Ichigo as the week passed, as well as training her tail off. I watched as Masaki's son slowly become more comfortable with his hollification. I wondered if Masaki was keeping an eye on him.

I knew she was alive. She soon came to me after Grand Fisher attacked Ichigo, and her gigai was destroyed. She'd told me that she would be resigning from the position of squad 0 captain after her two hundred years of service. Even though she was quiting so early in her life, she told me that she felt that this was the right thing to do.

She said that she'd keep her distance from then on and would keep an eye on things. I simply followed her orders, after all, she was my mentor.

As I watched Ichigo train from a survelience hell butterfly, I saw much of Masaki and Isshin in him. He was just like her from what she told me of her training days. With training Dominique, I instilled the techniques that Masaki taught me as a child to her. Even though I'm still kind of young to be a captain, I think that I'm doing pretty well with the squad.

I had to give it to Dominique though. Thanks to her and Ichigo's interference in Rukia Kuchiki's execution in the Soul Society, shadow shinigami were now working together with regular soul reapers on friendly terms for the first time in over three thousand years.

Soon, our people would be thrown into a war that one rouge soul reaper started. Though, I had excellent spys high up in the bastard's ranks. Kaien, Metestalkia, Luise, and Piair, just to name a few. The war would be ended with our side being victorious. We just had too many skilled warriors on our side.

Soon the match was upon Dominique. She brought along Ichigo, Emma, and Shaun with her to watch. As well as the massive croud that came to watch as well. What Dominique didn't know was that she was quite the popular person in squad 0 since she became the youngest section leader in our history. Even old Marlow was coming to watch his old two members fight.

The place was filled with squad 0 members, all wanting to watch the battle between the captain's trainee and the famous(if in a bad way) Shadow Snake of the Mississippi; Johnathan Fail.

When Dominique entered the large training area in the recreational building, the chattering between the members quieted down to silence. Dominique walked in proudly, with Ichigo walking in calmly behind her as well as Emma and Shaun flanking the two of them quietly. Soon Johnathan came in and joined in standing beside me. Emma, Shaun, and Ichigo each walked over to the sidelines to watch.

That was my cue.

I jumped onto a large boulder above the others and placed my hands up in the air to call for silence. Though I didn't need to though. Everyone was already quiet and listening attentively.

"As you all know, squad 0 is a family. A disfunctional one, but a family none the less. Even though we are a family, there are still disputes amung us for honor, and title within our ranks. Today we come here to witness such a dispute. A Leaders Match"! I called out as I shot my right fist into the air. The crowd errupted into cheers.

"Dominique"! Some yelled out.

"Johnathan"! Others also yelled. I held up my hands again for silence, which was quickly granted. Then I continued my speech.

"As many of you know, a Leaders Match is a battle between a current section leader and the challenger. There are five rounds to a Leaders Match; Hakuda/Hoho, Kido, Zanjutsu, hollification, and then the all out fight to the finish. The fighter with three out of five wins, either by complete knockout, forfit, or death wins the title of the section of the challenge and becomes that section's leader. With that said, we will now go into the first round of combat". I looked down at both Dominique and Johnathan.

"Since he is the challenger, he may choose the first round". Dominique said calmly. Johnathan smirked at her.

"I guess I'll choose kido". He said with a shrugg of his shoulders. I nodded at the two of them.

"Very well then. The first round will be a duel of kido. Now, fighters, take your places. Twenty meters away from each other". I called out as Dominique and Johnathan walked out into the battle ground. Then they began walking away from each other at a steady pace. Niether one showing any nervousness, or even fear. When they were twenty meters apart, they turned around to look at each other as they took their stances.

"Now, let the Leaders Match...begin"!

Dominique's POV

_'You got this. Now beat this punk into the ground'._ I thought to myself as I lowered into my stance. He'd chosen kido in the first round. Both a good and a bad thing. By doing kido the first round, your spells would be much stronger, but also, it would deplete your reiatsu earlier. It was a double edge sword for both of us.

I watched as he lowered himself into a crouch of his own with his palms facing me. I saw his lips moving as he spoke an incatation even before the round started. I knew that he was already charging up a strong bakudo that would pin me down, then he would follow up with a hado to finish me off quickly. I had a couple tricks up my sleeve though. I charged up my own power and waited for Rose to say the words to begin the fight.

"Now, let the Leaders Match...begin"! She called out and I immediately rolled to the side. I looked back and saw that there was a Sajo Sabaku chain right where my body had been just a half second ago.

"Sai"! I called out and pointed at him. His arms began to go behind his back, but he tried to keep them from connecting by using his strength. The thing was though, this as only a diversion.

_'Time to rack up on the binding spells. Thank you Emma'! _ I sent a silent thank you to my best friend.

"Kage bakudo 61 Rikujokuro! Kage bakudo 63 Sajo Sabaku"! I called out as the six bars of light stabbed themselves into his body(although harmlessly), and the huge chains wrapped themselves around his entire body, blocking any movement what-so-ever. I then walked up to him and chanted for a more powerful hado. Just before I released it I held my hand to his face as he struggled to get out of the three binding kido's I'd set on him.

"You damn cheater". He snarled at me. I scoffed.

"Yeah, and charging up a kido before Rose even said to begin wasn't cheating? I'll give you a chance to forfiet this round now...unless you want to find yourself with a Kurohitsugi around you. I'm sure you want to save the wounds for later rounds". I said as I showed the small, glowing black box in the palm of my hand. Johnathan did the smart thing though and bowed his head.

"I give up". He called out loud enough for Rose to hear. Rose nodded at me once before raising her voice for everyone to hear.

"The winner of the first round is Dominique Kudo with a forfiet"! She called out. I heard several loud cheers and hoots. Though there were some boos too, and from what I could tell, they were all female voices that booed at me.

"Release". I said calmly as I waved my hand to dissappate the kidos I'd cast. No reason to have any unessesary energy leeched out. Then I spoke up, "Since I was the victor, I call for the next round to be Hakuda/Hoho". I said as I went back to the twenty meter mark. Johnathan looked at me darkly as Rose readied to call out the next round's start.

"And, begin". She called as I sonidoed up into the air. I was used to taking the high ground. Johnathan looked at me darkly from the ground before dissappearing from my sight. I felt him come up behind me.

_'What the hells he got up that nasty sleeve of his'?_ I thought to myself as I twisted to the side to see wether or not he was really coming from behind me.

WHAM!

That was when a punch came from above me. He hit me directly in the spine with his leg, sending me flying towards the ground. Pain blossomed within my back, but I ignored it as I twisted around to send myself back into the air. Though he was right in my face, his fist aiming righ for my nose. I managed to duck it in time to send a heavy kick into his ribs.

I remembered his profile that I'd read while taking a break from training. He was a major speed type fighter. He used a lot of underhanded tricks and speed to win fights. I disliked fighting dirty, but if he was going to, so was I. I charged my arm with reiatsu and sent a punch flying into his left hip.

He was sent flying, but then something surprised me. The Johnathan that I'd hit, turned into a puff of black shadows.

_'Dammit! He used a shadow clone'!_ I thought angrily to myself as I looked around to find where the real Johnathan was. The thing was though, I didn't have to look far. He was right in front of me, and all around me. Reiatsu charged hands pointed directly at my neck. I knew that if I moved, my neck would be broken instantly from touching the reiatsu barriers around the hands.

"I give. Dammit. I thought shadow clones weren't allowd"? I called out. Rose looked down at us and nodded towards me.

"This round's winner is Johnathan Fail via forfiet". She called out. There were calls of insults and cheating. Rose raised a hand and I saw something in her face that made me smirk. She wanted me to thuroughly trash this boy. Rose would allow for this, even though he cheated. I would finish this now.

He may have one this one round, but that was because I hadn't used my own shadow clones in the fight. Then again, this made things more interresting. I grinned at Johnathan, who'd taken his hands away from my neck and disspersed his shadow clones.

"So, what's your choice in this round"? I asked innocently. He smirked.

"Zanjutsu". I smirked as I drew my Zangetsu from it's place on my back. He drew his zanpakuto from the sheath at his right hip. It was time to bring the pain.

_'Ready Zangetsu'?_ I thought to my blade as the power began running through me.

_'I am with you Dominique'._ He said calmly. I smiled inwardly as I felt his power flow through me. I could swear that I felt Ichigo's power mixed with it too. I walked over to the starting point and took a quick peek at Ichigo. He looked focused, so that meant that he really was helping me a little bit. This would be even more to my advantage.

I didn't need their help, though I was gratefull nonetheless, but now it was time for the fight to begin.

"Round three, begin"!

"Getsugatensho"! I sent a large Getsugatensho at the ground, creating a dust cloud around me.

"Dammit". I heard Johnathan curse.

"Let's do this Zangetsu". I whispered as I ran forward. I kept low to the ground and focused my power into the blade. I located Johnathan's reiatsu to my left through the dust cloud. I managed to get right into his face with my blade.

"Crap! Smash, (Kiba hanmā)"! His zanpakuto changed shape from a katana into a large hammer that had spikes on each side of it that were big enough to impale the crap out of someone. Those spikes were what really got people in a fight. They could be fired from the hammer and then more would take their place. He swung down and I was forced to jump away to prevent getting impaled with the spikes.

Johnathan looked at me as he gripped his zanpakuto in his hands. I held Zangetsu calmly in my own right hand. I then charged forward and sliced my blade through the air, aimed at his head. He just barely dodged it, some of his hair was now fluttering to the ground from where my blade sliced it off of his hair.

He jumped away from me and glared angrily at me as I smirked at him. I then released my hold on Zangetsu, letting the blade's hilt slip from my grasp. I quickly grabbed the hilt wrap and began swinging the blade through the air. I felt the power in me begin to rise within me as the blade turned faster. I began to laugh as Johnathan's face turned from one of anger to one of surprise.

I swear that I even saw the beginning of fear in his eyes. The sight of it sent a thrill of excitement through me.

"What's the matter Jonny Boy? You're not insulting me like you did in our first fight. You were so ready to call me a bitch and a ho then, just because I wouldn't lay down and spread my legs for you. I truly feel sorry for any girl who's ever been with you because they were tainted by your foulness". I said as I sent Zangetsu flying at him.

He lifted up his own zanpakuto and sent several spikes in my direction. Some met my blade as it travled to it's target, while others zoomed past, aimed at me. I jumped up to dodge them, but one managed to jab into my left leg.

I hissed in pain as the spike imbedded itself in my calf. Johnathan was able to dodge my attack at first, but while still in the air; I yanked the hilt wrap harshly and Zangetsu came back around and slashed into his shoulder deeply. It then stuck, imbedding itself within his shoulder, just as his spike did with my leg.

As I landed back on the ground with only my right leg, I yanked the hilt wrap again and brought Zangetsu back to me, but not before yanking it out of Johnathan's shoulder.

"Gra"! I heard him yell out as the metal was ripped through his flesh. Blood spurted from the wound and onto the ground turning the rocks at his feet red. I then caught Zangetsu as it flew back to me. Then I swung it to rid it of Johnathan's blood.

"Do you give up? You've sustained a severe injury that you might want to get looked at before we continue. Unless though, you feel like coming close to death". I said as I stood up on my right leg. I left the spike where it was, becuase it might be in an vein or something that if I remove it, would cause me to bleed a lot, too much blood loss was always bad news in a fight.

"You stupid bitch. I'll never give up". He said stubbornly. I sighed and lifted my blade up to point at him.

"Stupid boy. Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu". I called as my power flew out of me in waves. The red black energy surrounded me as my outfit changed into my bankai coat, and my blade changed into the pitch black katana that was my Tensa Zangetsu. I gripped the blade and stood at the ready. Johnathan looked at me darkly as he prepared to release his own bankai.

"Bankai! (Kiba hanmā ōji) He called out as smoke surrounded him. When it cleared, he was still standing there with his same zanpakuto. He slammed the hammer into the ground and when he picked up the hammer again, three spikes remained in the ground. Those three spikes expanded and turned into three huge rock monsters that wielded the same zanpakuto as Johnathan did.

His bankai allowed him to be able to make an army of fighters from the spikes. I felt the spike that was still in my leg heat up and I quickly moved down and ripped the spike from my leg. Blood spurted from the wound and I quickly bandaged it with a ripped off piece of cloth from my hakama. Then I jumped away from the spike that had been imbedded in my leg changed and became a larger version of me with his zanpakuto in her grasp.

I looked at the thing angrily and lowered into a crouch. I would need to preform the Speed Phantom Clone technique in order to win this. He could make even more monsters if any more of those spikes come off. I would need to finish this quick.

I gripped my blade and focused on my power, then I felt the power flow out and soon I was surrounded with nine copies of myself. Each of us wielding a Tensa Zangetsu, and ready to fight.

"Go". I whispered and each of us shunpoed into the attack. Five of them took on the rock monsters, while three of the others took on the monster clone of me. The last clone and myself went after Johnathan. We easily surrounded him and pointed our blades at him.

"Give up". We each commanded at the same time.

"Never"! He roared as he swung at us with his blade. I could tell that he was becoming desperate from the way he acted. He was losing a lot of blood from the shoulder wound I'd inflicted. I knew he wouldn't give up, and I wanted to go on ahead with the hollification battle so I decided to fight dirty.

While the remaining copy of me distracted him, I went around behind him and grabbed his zanpakuto from his grasp. I then pointed my own blade at his throat.

"You have been defeated. Now give up". I commanded with my most serious voice. He looked at me for a moment before bowing his head in defeat.

"I refuse". He said stubbornly as he lifted his head up to glare at me.

"Fine then, have it your way". I said as my clone came up behind him and knocked him in the back of his head with her foot. The blow knocked him unconcious and onto the ground with a thud.

"This round's winner is Dominique Kudo with a knockout"! Rose called out. I heard several cheers. I then tossed his zanpakuto to his side and walked away as I changed back into my shikai state. That was when the medical team came in and began treating our wounds. They weren't allowd to heal us, but they were allowed to cover the wounds with bandages, and to revive Johnathan with a bucket of cold water.

"Thanks". I said to the woman who wrapped a bandage around my leg, even though I didn't need it. Once I went into my hollified state, I would heal with my instant regeneration. I suspected that Johnathan had the same ability himself.

"You're welcome kid. Kick that little hothead's arse". She said with a sweet scottish accent. I nodded to her and stood up.

"The next round of combat will be hollification". I called out. I looked over and saw Johnathan smirk as they covered his shoulder wound with a lot of bandages to try and stop the bleeding. He looked a more than a bit worn out, but that was probably from losing all that blood. We soon got into position and waited for Rose's call.

"Let the fourth round begin". She yelled out. I roared out and let myself change into my half hollow form. As the reiatsu cloud dissappated, I lowered myself into a fighting stance. My claws were extended out at my sides, my arm blades were ready to shoot forward, and my tail lashed from side to side. My wings were raised and I felt my instincts to rip, tear, and shred bubble up to the surface. I felt the sneer on my face, even though he wouldn't be able to see it with my mask on.

I looked over at my enemy and saw his own hollows mask on his face. His looked like a rattlesnake's skull, only flatened into a mask with three gray stripes across his temples. His red/black eyes glared at me from behind his mask. He threw his blade, which had reverted into it's sealed state, across the ground, and away from him. I left my own blade across my back. I wouldn't need it either.

He curled his hands into claw shapes and then charged at me. He used sonido to move faster, but I feinted to the side to dodge his charge. I then lashed my tail out and grabbed his ankle before tossing him up into the air. He looked at me defiantly before pointing his palm at me. A gray cero charged up in his hand. I pointed both of my hands up and charged my own deep blue cero.

"Cero". We both called out as our ceros exploded from our hands at each other. They collided in midair. I raised my wings and flew around to the side, towoards Johnathan's left flank. He had just landed when my claws ripped through his side. I twisted in midair to see his reaction as he snarled at me as I passed by.

I smirked and flew back at him. My arm blades flew forward and slashed at his skin again and again. I made sure not to cut him too deeply to hit any vital organs. I did cover him with shallow gashes all over his body.

As I was doing this, he kept trying to grab me to stop my assault, but I had the advantage here. He'd lost too much blood and wasn't thinking clearly enough to fight back at the speed at which I was fighting.

"THAT"S IT"! I heard him screech out as his reiatsu skyrocketed. I flew back and prepared for his next move.

_'Here it comes'._ I thought to myself as he thrashed his head back and forth, as if trying to shake water from his hair or something.

"I will not lose to some stupid female"! He screamed out as he transformed into his hollow form. After his reiatsu dissappated, he sat there as a fifty foot snake. He looked like a giant python, even though he had huge fangs that made his jaw look like a rattlesnake's mouth, and razor sharp spines that grew down his back that looked like a brim's dorsal fin(Type of fish for those who don't know).. He lifted his head up and hissed at me menacingly. I smirked as I looked at the huge hollified snake before me.

"Well now that you've practically insulted every female here, I'm going to put you in your place". I said as I charged up my own reiatsu. He didn't want to lose to a female, but this day he would. I felt my own change come, but I did not raise my reiatsu to hide it. I let everyone watch as my body was torn appart in the change from my soul reaper form into my hollow form.

Even though I knew that my skin was being ripped appart as my bones crunched and grew, I didn't feel it. I'd stopped feeling it over a year ago after transforming enough for the numbness to take over when I changed. Though the change only lasted about a second, it was enough to leave a visual impression on the crowd and Johnathan.

As the transformation finished, I stood on all four legs and felt the wound that had been in my left calf completely dissappear. I planted my feet to the ground, lowered my head so I looked like a bull about to charge, and roared so loud that the ground shook with it. Johnathan seemed unaffected, but I mentally smirked as I saw his tail twitch.

I stalked forward, my claws clacking on the stone benieth me. Johnathan began slithering forward. He opened his mouth to show his four fangs at me. I opened my mouth to show him how sharp the massive ammout of fangs I had were. We silently talked, even without the use of a mental link.

That was when he charged at me, his serpent body sliding towards my body with his fangs exposed. I jumped forward and grabbed at him with my front claws. He tried to twist around and snap at my neck, but I used his wieght against him and climbed on top of him, using my claws to dig into his hierro flesh.

He let out a screech as my claws ripped through him, though they healed up almost instantly after they were made. I let my instincts take over and felt my power surge as my draconic pride raged.

I lunched forward and snapped my jaws around his neck, though from the bottom because of the razor sharp spines on his back. Blood rushed into my mouth, but I didn't dare swallow it. I ripped the chunk of flesh that I had in my mouth away from his body and tossed it out of my mouth as well as slinging the blood away. His blood tasted nasty.

I continued my assault on his body, even using his hollow hole as leverage to hold onto as I ripped and teared at his body. I knew that he would begin to heal with his instant regeneration, but the pain would soon get to him. He snapped at me and managed to grab my tail in his jaws. I roared out in pain as he bit over two thirds of my long tail off.

I shook my head against the pain and flashed around to face him. I watched as he ate the piece of my body that he'd bitten off. That pissed me off and I snarled at him menacingly.

_'How dare he bite off my beautiful tail'!_ I snarled in my mind. I lunged forward with my whole body and bit down on his face. He screeched again as I bit down harder. I soon let go and flew off of him. I landed on the ground and took a quick look back to see my tail already reforming. I watched as Johnathan hung his head and panted while his body tried to heal all of his wounds.

I decided that it was time to finish this. I reared up on two legs and felt the bones in my body shift as my body changed so that it could stand upright. I heard gasp from the crowd as they watched me. My shoulders bended and so did my hips to move into a standing position. I now towered over Johnathan.

This is why I had such long legs. Though I am more comfortable standing on all fours, this form can also stand on two legs. I could also summon my zanpakuto and use it while in this form. I felt a shiver roll down my body as my hierro skin shuddered, causing scales to errupt from my flesh.

Normally I kept my scales hidden, but by bringing out my scales, my skin would become even harder. This was a tactic I rarely showed anyone, but now it would be public knowlege after today.

I ran forward on two legs and tackled a stunned Johnathan to the ground. I pinned his head to the ground with on foot and held my jaws over his head. I began charging up a cero. I wouldn't even give him the option of forfeit this time, so I blasted him with my cero.

As the smoke cleared, I stepped away and saw Johnathan still in his hollow form. His body was shaking and much of his snake skin had been blasted away with that last attack. Blood dripped from him in buckets almost. I then looked up at Rose.

She didn't look at me though, she was still looking at Johnathan. I turned to look at him as he managed to move in an upright position. He glared at me crazily as he screeched.

I felt his reiatsu rise again as he began changing. His snake body melted down until he was human shaped again. I watched as claws errupted from his fingertips and a long tail errupted from his back. Two long fang-like things horns errupted from his palms as his skin began to cover itself with markings and fangs grew from his jaws.

After the transformation was finished, he stood there in his torn up shihakusho and hakama glaring at me with his red/black eyes from his now elongated version of his rattlestake's hollow mask.

He had changed into his vasto lorde form.

Me: Wow that was a long chapter!

Shiva: She even got it up on time this month.

Me: Yeah. I was just finishing it up this morning to be exact.

Shiva: Well we hope you enjoyed the cliffy.

Me: Send lots of reviews! They make me happy!

Shiva: Until the next chapter.

Impossible by Manifest

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	27. Howling Tempest

Me: We own nothing as you already know.

**Chapter 27: Howling Tempest**

Dominique's POV

So now Johnathan had changed into his vasto lorde form. I stood still as I looked down at him, still in my full hollow form, my tail swishing side to side slowly. He was no longer shaking from the wounds I'd given him. He stood shock still as his body shuddered as the change finished. His inner hollow Raja also came out before changing into his own vasto lorde form.

I was still standing upright as Shiva appeared at my side. She smirked at me before turning into her own vasto lorde form. I sighed at Johnathan's stubborness as I released the hold on my own power. If he wanted to fight me while in our most unstable forms, then so be it.

He would get his wish.

My reiatsu rushed up around me and I felt my body begin to dissappear as it changed untill I was human shapped again. My skin stayed pale, but the markings on my body changed from blue to black and changed positions too. I felt the fangs from both my upper and lower jaws errupt from my gums and my wings as my mask began forming on my face. My claws became shorter and more curved as well as covered in their own markings.

I felt the strong desire to just let my instincts run wild and to just sleep run through my mind, but I held them back. I needed to be in control of myself in order to fight Johnathan. He's had this form for over three hundred and fifty years, so he had the advantage when it came to controling this form, but I had the wild uncontroled strength behind my attacks that would work in my favor.

As my mask finished forming over my face, Johnathan and his Raja faced us. My zanpakuto was now back in it's proper spot on my back, so I reached up, and drew my blade. Shiva did the same as I stepped forward to stand beside her. We had a silent agreement that we would go after our own opponents, and not to interferre with the other's fight.

Raja drew his sword, and Johnathan held his hand out for his own blade to fly over to him. We looked at each other for a moment more before charging at the same time to finish this battle. A snarl rang out from the four of us as we clashed with a flurry of ringing metal. Johnathan went to slice my head off with his blade, and I blocked it with my own. Shiva was facing off against Raja as I clashed with Johnathan.

Slash, kick, thrust, dodge, jump, feint, punch, kick, stab, stab, dodge. The volly of attacks that we were throwing at each other were so fast that I really couldn't even see them. My body just moved on it's own really as it fought. My instincts guided me, but I was in control mostly.

He went to charge up a cero in his right hand, but I charged up my own cero with my horns and they met in the middle. Then he came back at me again, roaring at me. His mask opened up as he roared, baring his fangs. I recognized the move he was about to do. Just like in our first fight.

Johnathan went to stab me in the stomach with his blade. This time though, I didn't try to move. I felt the cold metal stab me in the stomach, and run me though. I gasped as pain ran through my body.

I leaned forward and gripped the blade with my left hand to hold it there, thereby holding him close to me. He had to be close in order for my plan to work. Unlike the last time, Marlow wouldn't be able to stop our fight. That and I was much stronger this time around.

I then lashed out with my right hand, tossing my Zangetsu into the ground, and grabbed Johnathan by his neck with my claws. I squeezed and leaned my head forward, charging up another cero between my horns.

"Well isn't this familiar? Remember the last time you ran a blade through my gut, Marlow stopped the fight, but this time, I'll be the one to end it. It's over Johnathan. You lose". I snarled with my hollified voice. I released his blade from my left hand and ran my fingers over the blood of my gut wound before pointing my clawed hand at him. I charged up a gran rey cero.

For the briefest of instances, I saw fear in the boy's eyes. Then it dissappeared as I blasted him with the two ceros, causing a huge explosion that blinded me for a few moments. Finally, when the dust cleared. I saw that Johnathan was severely wounded, close to death, but I didn't worry. The medical team would be able to save him with their healing shadows.

I looked around and saw that Shiva, just before I'd released the ceros, had thrown Raja in the path of them. He was blasted, and bloodied just like his shadow shinigami, not as badly though, since he hadn't been at close range.

I changed back into my soul reaper form. This time, when I looked at Rose, she smiled at me. She raised her hands up to the crowd. Now this fight was truly over.

"And the winner of the Leaders Match is, Dominique Kudo"! She yelled out. I heard the whole place errupt into cheers and hoots. I looked down at Johnathan as I gripped his blade that was still lodged in my gut. I yanked at it and pulled it out before stabbing it into the ground near his head. I didn't even twinge at the pain from removing the blade from my flesh.

I then bent down on the balls of my bare feet, near his face as he laid there nearly dead. His eyes moved to look up at me slowly, so that meant that he was at least still concious. Now I would give him my words of advice.

"The reason you lost, was not because of speed or power. The reason you lost was because you let your pride and anger get the better of you. You were so intent to beating me as a man to a woman, instead of two shadow shinigami fighting each other as equals. The instant you saw me as a weaker person because of my gender, you had already lost this fight. Now, as the winner of this fight and leader of section 13, I hereby banish you from my barracks for a hundred years. Hopefully by that time, you will have licked your wounds and your pride, and maybe have even learned not to be stuck up sexist asshole. Come see me again in a hundred years, and then maybe we can have a good sparring match". I whispered to him before standing up.

I then walked over to Shiva who was looked down at Raja with pity in her eyes. She nodded at me with a smirk before dissappearing back into my inner world. That was when I felt a presence coming up behind me rapidly. I turned around just in time for Ichigo's hands land on my shoulders as he looked at me.

"You idiot! Why in the hell did you let him stab you like that"!? He was yelling at me as he pulled me close to him. I cringed against him.

"Let go please? I need to go get this thing healed, and you don't need to worry so much. It's not like this was the first time I'd been ran through with a blade". I said as calmly as I could as pain flooded from my stomach. He instantly released me before picking me up bridal style and walked over to Rose. I blushed at the way he was holding me close to his chest.

_'Why in the world is he acting like this'?_ I thought to myself.

"Ichigo, stop". I said calmly. He thankfully listened and stopped moving, even though he didn't put me down.

"Why"? He asked simply. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Your overprotectiveness is appreciated, but not needed. I'm sort of tough ya know. This little wound's nothing. Now please let me down so I can get healed by the med team". I said as he let me down gently. I saw the look of hurt hidden in his eyes and grabbed his hands lovingly. He was such an overprotective idiot at times, but actually it was nice to be cared about when I got injured. The pain left his face as I held his hand with my smaller hand.

I quickly led him over to where that scottish lady was from before. She used a higher leveled healing shadow to heal the hole in my gut. After I was patched up nicely, I walked with Ichigo over to where Rose and the rest of my team were.

Rose looked at me and patted me on the shoulder. Emma and Shaun were cutting up as usual. Ichigo though, was standing behind me quietly as I leaned into him.

"Good job Dominique. I think you gave Ichigo a heart attack when you pulled that little stunt though". She said as she eyed Ichigo playfully. He looked away with a light blush on his face.

"Yeah. It's not the first time I've been run through by a blade. Anyway though, we need to be heading back. Got to get back to Ichigo's training ya know". I said lightly.

"Of course. I know he'll be a very powerful shadow shinigami when you get through with him. It's in his blood". Rose said with a knowing smile on her face that I didn't understand. She couldn't be talking about his soul reaper father right? I had a flicker of intuition in my chest, but I didn't know what it was about though. I shrugged it off to deal with later.

"Dominique"! I heard several people call. I looked back to see some of the members gathered together in a group.

"What's up"? I asked.

"Come on. Let's celebrate with a party! Bring your friends and your boyfriend too! Captain, you too, it's so not a party without you and Captain Sero"! An older girl with dirty blonde hair, who looked to be twenty something, though it didn't really show her real age, said as she held up a bottle of what could only be beer. I mentally gagged.

"No thanks. I'm underage, and I don't wanna taste that nasty stuff anyways". I called back. I was met with several people whining and complaining.

"Come on! It's not like we have drinking age limits here. You can drink if you want". A boy with silver hair said over the crowd, he was already three sheets to the wind with the way he was swaying. I shook my head.

"Sorry. I just don't like alcohol. That, and I need to get back to Ichigo's training". I insisted.

"Awwe, please. You seriously need to cut loose". Another girl with black curly hair said while jumping up and down excitedly. She reminded me of a poodle/chihuahua mix.

"We'll go with them to keep them pacified so you can go train Ichigo". Emma said as she licked her lips at the bottles of beer. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yeah right. You just wanna go get wasted". I said with a groan.

"You know us so well". Shaun said with a smirk. I couldn't help but roll my eyes again.

"Let's go Ichigo. I don't even want to smell that nasty stuff". I said as I grabbed Ichigo's hand. Then I saw that someone was standing in my way. I looked up and it turned out to be Marlow Tenson. He had his zanpakuto Zaruxili at his side as he looked down at me with a smile on his face.

"Come on Dominique. You're still too uptight. Go have fun and take your new trainee along with you to see what a squad 0 party is like. In my thousands of years here, I've only ever met three people who were as uptight as you". Marlow said with his orange eyes filled with humor.

"Fine then Marlow. I'll go have some fun, but I refuse to get drunk. Once was enough". At that I left him standing there with raised eyebrows to join Emma and the others as they began to file out of the battle room.

I brought Ichigo over to where a couple of my other section leader friends were talking to each other. There was Miguell from section 12 in Mexico, Dalton from section 2 in India, William from section 1 in London, and Alexandria from section 14 in Canada. They were around two hundred years old each, making me feel too young. Yet they acted as if they were still in their teens, and they looked like it too.

They ended up dragging Ichigo and myself into one of the other rooms that was teched out into one of those places that you'd imagined a rave would take place at. Complete with black lights, multicolored spotlights, and thumping music from around the world.

I was dragged around, hugged, arm punched, and nuggied by several of my fellow shadow shinigami. Throughout the whole thing, Ichigo stayed by my side, either happy to simply be with me, or simply too anxious to go on his own, what with being surrounded by several hundred warriors who were much stronger and more experienced than he was.

Well at least here he was a commrad instead of an enemy.

I had fun, to say the least. Ichigo and I danced to a few songs that were so loud that you couldn't understand them, and all you could do was go with the rhythm of the pounding beat running through your chest from the thunderous bass. I was careful not to drink anything, or even eat anything.

Shadow shinigami were notorious for getting drunk and starting up smaller brawls that would escalate into some serious property damage. Rose was no exception to this matter. I watched as she danced on top of a food table, a deep blush evident on her face as her and her inner hollow Sero partied hard to the music of what I thought was Kesha's Take it Off.

I shook my head at their sillyness as Sero glomped an unsuspecting young inner hollow from section 5. I turned to Ichigo as he watched the party going on. There were bodies everywhere you looked. Young, old, black, white, America, German, African, Russian, it didn't matter. I watched him as he took it all in. I stepped to his side before dragging him over to a stand where we would be above the mass of dancing and partying bodies.

"Nice isn't it"? I yelled above the music as I sat down on the ledge. Ichigo soon sat down at my side.

"I never knew that so many people would be like this". He yelled in amazement as he motioned to the party below us.

"Yeah. You can see how we're a family. A dysfunctional one to say the least, but a family none the less". I said proudly.

"Yeah, and now I'm a part of it". I smiled at him as a small smile appeared on his own face.

"Yep. And not just here. You also got friends in the Soul Society. Not many of us can say the same".

"Why is that"? He yelled at me over a particuarlly loud beat in the song.

"Cause most soul reapers don't like us for our hollow powers. They consider us freaks". I said loudly with a frown on my face.

"Why"?

"We're stronger than them because of our powers. Soul reapers have a lot of pride. As much as we do sometimes. They just don't think of us as equals".

"Hmph". I looked at Ichigo with his scowl on his face and smiled at him before standing up. I grabbed his hand and heafted him to his feet.

"Let's bounce". I said as I jumped from the stand. I flew over the party as I tried to get to the door. I narrowly got caught by a couple people trying to grab at my ankles and feet. Ichigo soon joined me at the door. We exited the room and I smiled at Ichigo.

I led him out of the huge barracks and out to the Central Plaza. I then opened a shadow gate and we were soon back home. I opened the barrier around the vizards' hideout before going inside. Ichigo and I then laid down on our futons and went to sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

It was a few days later when I'd been heading back to the hideout with tonights dinner when I saw Karin kick a soccer ball at Toshiro. The scene itself surprised me, but then Toshiro kicking the ball back at high speed did not. As the ball sped past Karin towards one of her friends with a brown afro, I charged up my reiatsu and used my shadow to move right in front of the boy to block the high speed ball from landing on his face.

"Woah Toshiro. If I'd hadn't of caught that ball, little afro dude here would have had a pancake for a face. Whatch where you're aiming". I said nonchalantly with a bit of humor in my voice. I could see his irritation at the fact that I once again used his first name instead of his title.

"Well sorry Kudo, I only did what was neccessary to keep that ball from smacking into the back of my head. And for the last time, the name's Captain Hitsugaya". He said stubbornly.

"Whatever...Toshiro. So what's up"? I asked cheekily.

"Nothing. I was just leaving". He said coldly back as he turned to leave. Then Karin and the rest of her friends ran up to him and were begging him to help them play against a bunch of middle schoolers in a soccer game. He looked at them in surprise. I noticed Karin staring at me.

"Hi Karin". As soon as I said that, I felt the presence of a hollow appear. A few seconds later Toshiro's soul phone went off. He snapped it shut, I was already running in the direction of the hollow.

"See ya guys. Talk to ya later". I called out behind me. Then Toshiro yelled out behind them that he couldnt' help them. They yelled a plea to Toshiro and told him that practice was at four tomorrow.

Soon Toshiro and I were in range of the hollow. He ate a soul candy, and I swallowed Tsumi. We found that it was a small hollow, but a fast one. I quickly blocked it's escape and as it had it's eyes on me, Toshiro took it out with his Hyorinmaru.

Soon after that I headed back to the hideout and planned to see how Toshiro would handle the invitation...not that I'd give him much of a choice.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Two days later I was watching Toshiro as he watched Karin and her friends practice for the soccer match on Saturday. I could see that his eyes were trained, not on the practice itself, but on Ichigo's little sister Karin.

I felt that he had a thing for Karin. Ichigo would definitely not be happy if he were to find that the midget soul reaper captain had a crush on his sister, but it would make for some serious fun if I played it right. I left quickly after that and got back to watch how Ichigo's training was doing. Right now he was training with Love, which was funny in itself cause Love was a bit weird with his artsy-ness.

Then the day before the game, I saw Toshiro watching them practice again. This time though, Rangiku came up on the roof with him, and openly accused him of likeing a girl from the World of the Living. He denied of course and stalked off. All the while, I could only agree with what she said.

_'You know she's right Toshiro'._ I thought to myself with a sigh. I knew he wouldn't go to that game willingly, so I decided to drag his ass out to the game myself. I'd even help.

This was going to be seriously funny.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

It was game time, but I couldn't find Toshiro. For a soul reaper, he sure did know how to hide his reiatsu. When I finally found him, I practically dragged him to the soccer field where Karin's game would be at. When we got there I saw that Karin's team was just about to lose, but now that Toshiro and I were here, they were garanteed to win. I may not have a great liking for sports, but I could play well.

As the other team's captain came up and asked who we were, he scoffed that Karin's backup were only a kid and a girl. He pissed me off, but I would teach him some manners on the field.

Toshiro tried to decline playing, then he noticed something.

"Your knee. Are you hurt"? He asked with real concern in his voice. I looked down and noticed it too. I growled under my breath that someone had hurt Karin. She and Yuzu had become practically siblings to me, and I refused to let anyone get away with hurting them. I looked back up at Karin and she was smiling at Toshiro.

"It's nothing, really. It's just a littl scratch. I'm fine". She said as if it didn't matter. I growled a little louder this time. I'd heal it after the game when the humans weren't around. Toshiro agreed after seeing her wound. After that, Toshiro and I switched out with the blonde haired kid, and the kid with the glasses.

When the game got started, Karin had the ball and was heading down the field to the goal, but the other team's captain stole the ball from her.

"That ball's mine"! He said as he began running to the other goal. As Karin and her other team mate went after him, I decided to have a bit of fun. I rushed forward and snached the ball away from him. I then moved around two of his other team mates and kicked the ball to Toshiro who sent the ball flying into the net. At the same time, he also made it collide with the goalie.

"Sorry, but the ball is ours". I said cheekily after Toshiro scored. The captain glared at me. I could only smirk back at him.

After that, Toshiro scored another goal, and then I scored two more. So now the teams were tied, and the opposing team seemed to be worn out. Both Toshiro and I began the last run, passing the ball back and forth, confusing the other team, and personally, this was the most fun I'd ever had while playing a sport. As we neared the goal, Karin was right beside Toshiro who had the ball.

I moved back a bit to guard their backs. Karin looked at him excitedly as they ran.

"Put it in again". I nearly choked from what she'd said. I knew what she meant, but it just didn't sound right. Toshiro passed her the ball and looked at her seriously.

"No you do it. This is your team". He said truthfully as he moved back to let Karin lead the way. She then ran faster as she prepared to make the last goal.

"Here it goes"! She yelled as she kicked the ball into the goal as hard as she could. The ball made it into the net and we won the game. The ref blew the whistle and our team started celebrating.

"Ha. Snobby brats". I muttered to myself with a smirk as the middle schoolers walked off in defeat. Karin then walked up to Toshiro.

"It's all thanks to you and Dominique. Thanks a lot". Karin said to Toshiro and I. Toshiro looked like it didn't mean anything.

"Come on, you're the one who scored the winning goal. Anyway, there's something I need to ask you". Toshiro said as he turned to look at her seriously.

"What is it"? Karin asked with a stutter.

"The other day, you seemed to-". He was cut off by a rummbling sound. That was when I felt a distortion in the air. I looked back and saw a crack in the sky, a poorly created garganta.

"Oh no it's back again". Karin muttered to herself as Toshiro pulled out his soul phone. I tensed my muscles and readied myself to attack the approaching hollow. This one was going to be a big one from the size of the garganta. Toshiro was muttering something about a menos.

That was when the hollow ripped its way out of the garganta. It was huge, and green with purple hands and what looked to be hair on it head. It reached out to crush Karin, but Toshiro tackled her out of the way. As it landed on the ground, it completely destroyed the soccer field. Thankfully though, no one was hurt.

I quickly swallowed Tsumi and told her to get everyone away from here. She nodded and shunpoed to get Karin's friends, who were closer to the hollow than we were, away from here. She then went to grab Karin, but she refused. I drew my blade and readied for the hollow to attack.

Toshiro told Karin to run away as he looked up at the hollow, and Karin looked at him in shock.

"Toshiro? You can see that thing"? She asked in shock.

"I'll explain it to you later. Just run away now". He ordered her. She shook her head and ran over to where her soccer ball was. She kicked it and filled it with her reiatsu. It was sent flying at the hollow's face. When it landed, it blew appart, but the hollow didn't even feel it. I looked at her with a sweat drop on my face as the hollow scratched where the ball had landed, as if it itched

The hollow then went to slam it's fist on Karin, but Toshiro left his body, and he and I blocked it's strike with our blades. The force behind the hollow's attack was pretty good, so it left a crater around us that looked like a moat. Karin was on the ground behind us. I turned to look back at her to make sure she was alright. She looked up at me with a look of shock and awe, making me smirk.

"Let's get this over with Toshiro". I said with a smrik on my lips. He didn't answer me, instead, he called out his zanpakuto.

"Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyourinmaru". He called out. As he did this, the sky turned dark with clouds and the tempurature dropped fast.

"Scratch the sky, Zangetsu". I called, even though it wasn't needed, but Zangetsu answered my call anyway. Both Toshiro's and my own reiatsu skyrocketed as we charged up our attacks. Toshiro threw the chain from his zanpakuto at the hollow, catching it's arm with it, instantly freezing it. As he pulled the frozen arm off the hollow, I charged up a Getsugatensho and unleashed it at the hollow, slicing strait though it's mask.

As the body started falling to the ground, Toshiro froze the rest of it and shattered it, making the field look like as if it had snowed for a second. As soon as he did this, it began to rain, washing away the snow instantly. Then the sky cleared up and everything went back to normal.

Toshiro walked up to Karin, who was still on the ground. He offered a hand to help her up. I decided to give them a moment alone, but I overheard when she began asking Toshiro where Ichigo was. Toshiro admitted that he didn't know where he was, only that he knew that Ichigo was training to get stronger. That was when I stepped over to where they were to speak to Karin.

"I't okay Karin. Ichigo's fine. I know where he is, and he really is training to get stronger, so you don't have to worry about him. I'm taking good care of him. Ichigo's strong, and you two are a lot alike in that way". I said as I smiled at her. That was when I heard Rangiku's voice coming this way. Karin looked at her and then to Toshiro.

"So she's a soul reaper too"? She asked Toshiro.

"Yeah. She's my subordinate". He said grudgingly.

"So, you have subordinates". She said with humor in her voice. Toshiro looked down in aggitation.

"Sort of". He mumbled. Rangiku walked up to us with a serious look on her face, "Rangiku, your late".

"I'm sorry sir". She said before looking at Karin, "Captain, can this girl see us"?

"She's Ichigo Kurosaki's sister". Rangiku looked surprised.

"His sister"?!

"Yeah, Hi there". Karin said with a smile on her face.

"Well hello. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Rangiku Matsumoto. I'm Captain Hitsugaya's lueitenant". Karin turned to look at Toshiro in awe.

"Wow, you really are a captain. You sure are cool Toshiro," She said as she went to pat his head, "Even though you're just a little grade schooler". She said as she continued to pat his head. I fought back the laughter that was bubbling up in my chest. Toshiro had a tic mark on his forehead as Karin began running her fingers through his hair like he was a puppy.

"Who said I was a grade schooler"? He asked angrily. Karin looked at him in shock.

"You mean you're not"? At that, both Rangiku and I burst out laughing. Toshiro pushed her hand away in aggitation.

"Look, I'm only going to tell you this one last time! I AM NOT A LITTLE KID"! He yelled so loudly that I think the whole town heard him. I couldn't take it anymore as I fell flat on my ass as I practically laughed it off.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Nami's POV

It's now been almost two months since I first came to Karakura Town. For the first time since I was banished from the Soul Society, I've felt at peace. Urahara let me train in his underground room with Chad and the soul reaper Renji Abarai. Today I was going to use my bankai against Renji while Chad takes a break today. In other words, Chad was being used to carry heavy things for Tessai and Urahara while they shopped.

"Okay Renji, lets do this"! I said excitedly as I held my Orora Tenshi in my right hand loosely as Renji held his Zabimaru at the ready. He smirked at me as he called out his bankai. I shifted into a low stance as I prepared to release my own bankai. I hadn't released it since before my brother was killed. I breathed deeply and smiled at Renji.

"Bankai. Koku Orora Tenshimaru"! As I called out my bankai a pulse ran through me and suddenly, everything went black.

Ichigo's POV

Dominique and I were taking the day off from training to go visit Urahara to see if anything new was happening with the arrancars. When we got there, we heard a deep rumbling sound. The reiatsu in the air was so thick that it reminded me of Kenpachi's or Dominique's in her vasto lorde form. There was so much malice in it, as well as pain and sorrow.

I looked at Dominique who was standing at my side in shock. She looked up at me before grabbing my arm and running towards Urahara's shop. I only heard her say one thing.

"Nami"! She whispered as we ran towards the entrance to the underground training room. We left our bodies with Tsumi as she took mine and Dominique's body to a safe place. We jumped down to the ground of the training room. What we saw was not what I was expecting.

There was Nami, who was holding two huge axes with spears on the ends, wearing what looked like black feathers in the shape of armor and a huge black shadowy wolf with wings at her side. And there was Renji in his bankai state off to the side, his eyes wide with fear.

"DIE! DIE YOU TRAITOR! YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID"! She screamed as she slashed around herself wildly. I looked to Dominique.

"What's going on"? She shook her head.

"I don't know". Was all she said. It looked like she was fighting an imaginary enemy. Her eyes were wild and frantic as she looked around her. Both Dominique and I shunpoed over to where Renji was.

"Renji, what the hell's going on"? I asked him. He looked at us in surprise, but then he got serious.

"I don't know why she's acting like that. We were going to train with our bankais, but when she released her bankai, that happened". He motioned to Nami as she hacked and slashed at a boulder. The winged wolf at her side stood still and just looked at her. It's eyes were a silvery blue while the rest of it's body was almost phantom-like in it's appearance.

Then it looked at us. As it did, Nami stopped blasting appart the boulder to stare at us. Her wings raised up, she crouched low to the ground, and took off into the air. She screeched as she brought her axes forward to attack us. Renji and I both moved to defend ourselves, but Dominique held up her hand to stop us.

"Bankai". She murmured as she changed into her bankai state. She held Tensa Zangetsu in her right hand and stepped forward to intercept Nami.

"DIE TAYUYA"! Nami screeched as she clashed her blades with Dominiques zanpakuto. The force behind her blow nearly blew Renji and I back, but Dominique stood there calmly, if not struggling a bit from the power behind Nami's blow as she oppted for two hands instead of just one.

"Nami, calm down. There's no one here named Tayuya. There's just Renji, Ichigo, you, and myself here. Calm down". She said slowly and calmly as Nami continued to screech at her.

"TRAITOR! MURDERER! BLOOD! DEATH! YOU WILL DIIIIEEEE"! She screamed as she began hacking and slashing at Dominique, who managed to block all of her strikes. She was really having to use her speed here to dodge some of her attacks. As Nami attacked Dominique, the shadow wolf continued to look at Renji and myself.

"Renji"? I said as I raised my blade and went into my own bankai state.

"I see it. Crap. Who knew she was this tough". Renji said as he readied himself.

"Well she is my half sister". I said seriously.

"Half sister huh? How old is your old man anyway"?

"Dunno. I had thought he was about forty, but with this information, I think he's a hell of a lot older. He was a soul reaper, but his powers are sealed". I said truthfully. He grunted like it didn't really matter at the moment, and really, it didn't. The wolf came at us and I managed to move out of it's way.

It used some of the same techniques that Dominique had used during training. It manipulated it's shadowy body to attack, reminding me of how Grand Fisher had used his fur to attack me back at Mom's grave. I hacked at the tendrils and they shattered with the sound of breaking glass.

Renji sent his Hihio Zabimaru at it and crushed it into the ground, causing a huge crashing sound. When Renji pulled Hihio Zabimaru back, we saw that the shadow wolf was completely demolished, but then all the pieces began moving and reformed back into the winged wolf.

"You won't be able to kill this thing without completely vaporizing it, otherwise it'll just reform". Renji said seriously. I nodded.

Then I heard a scream

I turned to look where the scream came from and found Dominique on top of Nami's back. Nami's axes were tossed to the side, as well as Dominique's Tensa Zangetsu. Dominique was holding Nami's hands back with her arms in a wrestling hold. Nami's wings flapped furiously as she tried to break free.

"Kage hado number 107, Bankai Hakai (Bankai destruction)"! She yelled as she made a light symbol in the air with her forefinger and middle finger. The symbol looked like half a star with a crescent moon on the bottom, and what looked like a slanted y in the middle of it. The symbol got bigger and bigger until it was the size of a person. After it finished growing three white tentacles grew from the arms of the star and one grabbed onto the shadow wolf.

When it touched the wolf, it blew appart completely. Then the second arm wrapped around Nami's axes, causing them to dissappear as well. The third one wrapped around Nami right after Dominique leaped off of her. She too, seemed to explode, but when the light faded, she was back to normal. Her zanpakuto was shiethed at her side and she fell to the ground unconcious.

As soon as she hit the ground, the symbol faded away into nothingness. Dominique stood back up and walked over to grab her sword before crouching near Nami to check that she was alright. As she was doing this, I was running up to do the same thing.

"Nami, wake up please". Dominique said gently as she turned Nami onto her back. As she did this, Nami's eyes fluttered as she regained conciousness.

"Ugh. Owwie. Why does my body hurt, and why am I on the ground"? She said sleepily.

"From what Renji said, you went into your bankai state, and for some reason started attacking everything in sight wildly. I managed to get you back to normal though". Dominique said quietly.

"I used my bankai? I don't remember anything besides when I was about to spar with Renji. I haven't used my bankai since before my brother died". Dominique and I nodded.

"You said something about a person named Tayuya. Who is that"? I asked.

"Tayuya...Ugh"! She said as she gripped her head in pain. Both Dominique and I moved to put our hands on her shoulders.

"Don't strain yourself. If it hurts, don't try to remember". Dominique said comfortingly.

"Pain, blood, dark floors, betrayle...Aizen". She whispered before she passed out in our laps. I looked at Dominique, her face was set into a scowl that rivaled my own. I then lifte her up and took her to her room in the shop. After I set her on her futon, I walked back to where Dominique was standing, talking to Renji. For just a second, I felt a sharp pang of jealousy run though me, but I squashed it down easily.

"Remember, tell Urahara what happened. He may be able to find out what happened to Nami. I'm not sure, but I think that her using her bankai is the trigger. Don't let her use her bankai again". Renji nodded to her.

"Got it. Now where have you guys been at lately". He said as he looked from Dominique to me and back again. Dominique cracked a smirk.

"We've been off training. Now we need to be heading back since it's getting late. See ya later Pineapple head". She said as she and I walked out the shop doors.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The next day I was to train with Hiyori again. Dominique had to go to the barracks to file some paperwork and she wanted to look up that Tayuya person Nami had spoken of. After she left I got to my training. Hiyori was giving me the usual crap, saying that I thought that I could die and come back again, which was stupid. She kept calling me baldy and dumbass, which was pissing me off even more. I could understand why Dominique kicked her ass when we first got here, and personally, I wish she'd do it again.

Other than Hiyori acting like a bitch, my training was going well. I could now use my mask for thirty seconds. Ever since I'd eaten that hollow, I'd felt really good. Dominique had said that when I'd eaten that hollow, I'd filled my body with enough energy to last me a couple of months. Only if you get in the habbit of eating a hollow ever couple of months or so, does the hunger come up more.

As I was thinking about this, Hiyori tried to take my head off of me again. I managed to dodge it, but just barely. That little snaggltoothed midget was so going to get it one day.

I personally hated when Dominique left me alone here with these nutcases. Lisa was a perv, Rose seemed gay and not only because of his name, Love was just freaky, Hiyori pissed me off, Shinji annoyed the crap out of me, Mashiro was strange and that was putting it nicely, and Kensei reminded me of an army drill officer. The only decent one out of the bunch was Hachi, and even he wierded me out.

Though Dominique told me that she trusted them with her life, I could say the same.

Later that day, as I trained with Hiyori, I felt a strong reiatsu go through the air. My eyes widened in shock as I recoginzed it.

_'Grimmjow'!_ Both Hichigo and I thought angrily as I ran towards the entrance of the vizards' training ground. Rose and Kensie tried to stop me, but then Shinji forced them to let me go. I didn't even have time to thank him as I ran up the steps. Thankfully Hachi let down the barrier so I could leave. I shunpoed over to where Grimmjow was.

_'Now it's time to finishe what we started last time'._

_'Hells yeah'._

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Luppi's POV

Aizen had ordered us Ulquiorra on a mission, and Ulquiorra invited big, stupid Yammy, little, stupid Wonderwise who just got turned into an arrancar, the now one armed Grimmjow, and myself on this mission. Ulquiorra told us to go to the World of the Living to do as we please and fight who we wished as he left to go through a seperate garganta than the one we were to travel through.

I wondered what was going on, but I really didn't care. I was too happy to get out of stuffy old Las Noches. I was so sick of this place and missed the barracks so much. I missed my classes that I taught at the academy more than anything. There was nothing fun to do in Hueco Mundo. No chasing scared newbees, no munching on sweets with the captain, and no playing pranks either.

As we walked though the chaos reishi to get to the World of the Living, I kept up my appearance by smirking smuggly at Grimmjow. The more I made him hate me, the more predictable he would become, and the easier it would be for me to make my move. As the garganta opened, we saw that there was a whole group of soul reapers right beneith us.

_'Man, Aizen sure is one hell of a sadistic bastard'._ I thought to myself. I decided to play my part though.

"Oh. It looks like we picked a good spot to show up. Lot's of people with high reiatsus wandering around. This'll be fun". Yammy said happily as we looked down at the group of four soul reapers below us.

"Take a good long look. Those are soul reapers Yammy. They're probably the reinforcements from the Soul Society that Mr. Six told us about". I paused for dramatic effect before looking back at Grimmjow, "Right? Oh I'm sorry, of course I mean the former six". After I said that he didn't seem to pay attention, but when he looked back at me, his eyes were pissed.

"The guy I'm look'n to kill...he's not even down there with them". At that, he took off into the air. Yammy called after him, but I shushed him up, saying that he didn't matter anymore now that he wasn't even an espada anymore.

"Damn. The guy I wanna fight isn't down there either". Yammy complained.

_'Guy. But he got his ass kicked by three of them and two of them were female. Which one is he talking about'?_ I thought to myself.

"Who do you mean? The guy who chopped your arm off, or the guy who kicked your butt, or the one who deflected your cero? With you, there are so many enemies to choose from". I asked out of curiosity. I hadn't been at the meeting where Ulquiorra had shown everyone the fight but I'd recently found out that little Ryu-chan had been the one to deflect Yammy's cero.

Yammy looked back at me with a murderous grin on his face.

"Hehe. I want all of them". Then he turned back to Wonderwise, "Hey! Let's get going rookie! Don't just stand there drooling like that". Yammy yelled. I glanced back and saw that the kid was in face just looking off into space with his mouth open.

_'I wish a fly would land in his mouth'._ Trepadora said with a mental smirk. I agreed with my zanpakuto.

"Ahh..." Was all that the kid said.

"Hmph. Just what we need. Another freak to join the team". Yammy said as he turned back to the soul reapers below us. I sweat dropped a little at what he said though.

_"Freak? Like he has anything to say. He's got black hair but orange eyebrows. And I tought Ichiko and Chikohi were wierd with their orange hair'._ I thought to myself. Yammy jumped from the garganta to where the soul reapers were at. Just before he made it to the ground though, a white haired kid with a captain's hiori blocked his strike.

"I'm squad 10 captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya"! The little captain said seriously.

"That's quite a coincidence, I'm also a ten. Arrancar ten, better known as Yammy"! After he said that I stopped listening. I was here to make sure that the soul reapers didn't die, and to do a good show for Aizen, and his survelience system. It was time for the fun to begin.

Nami's POV

"Let me go please! I want to fight"! I struggled against Tessai's grip, but he would not let up.

"I'm sorry Miss Nami, but after what happened in the training ground, we can't let you go until the test results come back. It's for your own safety and the safety of your friends and family". He argued back. After he said that, my body slumped in defeat. He was right. I attacked Dominique, Ichigo, and Renji for no reason, and I didn't even remember doing it. If I lost control again, who knows what I could do.

"Don't worry Nami. I'm going to fight". Kisuke said as he grabbed his zanpakuto Benehime. I could only nod and let Tessai lead me back into the store where Chad, Renji, Ururu, and Jinta were waiting.

Emma's POV

"Crap. Dominique sure does pick the perfect time to go to the barracks. Let's go guys". I said to the others as they followed me out the door to engage the enemy. Shaun, Hinami, Luna, and I took to the air, while Claire and Ronnie raced over the ground in their human forms. It was daytime and they could be spotted easily in the city areas.

As we got to where Toshiro and the others were, I saw a familiar face.

_'No way. Is that Luppi'!?_ I thought to myself in shock. What was he doing on the arrancar's team.

_'Wait. If you remember, Dominique told us about how Rose had spies up in Aizen's territory. I'd bet that Luppi is one of them. That would explain why we hadn't seen them at the barracks the last time we'd gone there'._ Artemis said seriously.

_"Yeah! That's so it! We just gotta play along with it and not give Luppi away'._ Shinku no Chi said excitedly. Ikkaku and Yumichika were already standing in front of Luppi, who had his arms held behind his back leisurily. Luna and Hinami went after the big guy whos name Dominique told us was Yammy. Saun and I went up to stand in front of Luppi. If he recognized us, he didn't show it, but then again, he was supposed to be the enemy, and he's always been a good actor.

"My name is Luppi, and I'm ranked number six". He said as he pulled part of his shirt down to show the six that was almost touching his hip. I thought it was ironic for him to be ranked sixth. Louis and Piair were squad 0's sixth seats.

I smirked as I drew my blade, Shaun did the same at my side. We'd have to be careful, or this whole play would go to pieces.

Ichigo's POV

I rushed through the sky towards the arrancars' reiatsus. As I was flying to get there, Grimmjow showed up. I straitened up and put my hand on Zangetsu's hilt as we had a stare off. Grimmjow looked down at me with anger in his eyes.

"Hey, I've been looking for you, soul reaper". He said as I drew Zangetsu. I smirked at him.

"And I've been waiting for you. It's taken me some time, but now I'm ready to show you what I've learned since the last time we met"! He only narrowed his eyes at me. I raised Zangetsu and summoned my bankai. My reiatsu rose around me as I didn't hold back the power this time. I cut through the reiatsu cloud and stood before Grimmjow smuggly.

"Bankai huh? So what? Maybe you've forgotten. Your bankai couldn't stop me, or even do anything to slow me down the first time we met"! He said seriously. I just looked at him with the same serious expression on my own face.

"Well maybe you're the one who's forgotten. It was my bankai attack that gave you that scar". I said calmly, if not a bit smugly. He looked at me icily, but I continued, "I've got a question for you Grimmjow. What happened...to that arm of yours"? I asked, noticing that his left arm was completely gone. He only smirked at me before speaking.

"Oh I got rid of it. Cause I'm only gonna need one arm to kill you". He said boldly.

"Is that right? Then in that case, I guess I don't need to hold back"!

"If you do, then you'll just die faster"! He said as his reiatsu began rising. I lifted my hand to my face to get ready to summon my mask as my own reiatsu began rose.

_'I can remain hollified for 32 seconds. I'll finish him by then'._ I thought to myself as I focused my energy.

_'I'm ready to help kick his ass! Time for some payback'!_ Hichigo said loudly.

_'Let's go'!_ We both called out together.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

I was at the barracks with the Stealth force, lead by tenth seats Hatsu and Fuyu, trying to get information on this Tayuya person. Turns out, she's a member of squad 14, in fact, she was it's lueitenant, until Nami was exiled. They reported that she'd gone on a mission to the World of the Living and supposedly died there. Then Tayuya took over the captain's duties and eventually became the captain of squad 13.

I also got some paperwork finished, and spoke with a few newbees who needed help with controling their shadows. That was when I got the message from Rose. Turns out that Arrancars just entered the World of the Living, and what's worse was that most of them were espadas.

"Crap"! I cursed loudly as I made my way to the central plaza to open a shadow gate. I stabbed my blade into the air and the shadows swirled around it violently in my haste. I then lept through the gate without even pausing to give the exact coordinates where I wanted to go except for Karakura Town, Japan.

_'Please let me get there in time'! _

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Ichigo's POV

I let my reiatsu pour out of me as I summoned my hollows mask on my face. The cool bone rested on my face as my reiatsu tripled. I looked up at Grimmjow and saw a satisfying look of shock and a tiny amount of fear on his face. I stood across from him calmly as he looked at me in shock.

"W-what the hell was that"?

"Sorry...I don't have time to explain it to you". I said with my hollified voice. Then I sonidoed towards him. He drew his sword just in time to block my strike, but just barely. I then poured some of my reiatsu into the force behind my blade, causing him to move back some. As I pushed harder, his sword moved back towards him as he couldn't keep up with my strenght.

"Getsugatensho"! The blast that came from my blade, momentarily blinded me, but I knew that it had caused some serious damage.

_'Hells yeah! Keep it up'._ Hichigo sneered. I waited though for the smoke to clear, and saw that Grimmjow was seriously injured. He was bleeding from several places on his body and panting heavily, while I wasn't even breaking a sweat.

"This power of yours...it's not the power of a soul reaper... Damn you. It's only been a month. What the hell did you do to yourself"?! He asked as if I'd done something grotesque to my body. I smirked behind my mask, but I remained focused as I raised my blade for another attack. I let loose another Getsugatensho directly at him. He tried to block it, but it pushed him back easily. I decided to do this a bit Dominique's style so I sonidoed behind him.

"I already told you. I don't have time to explain". I said as I shot yet another Getsugatensho at him. This one was even bigger than the last one, and it did a direct hit, causing an explosion in midair. Grimmjow was sent plummeting towards the ground, so I chased after him. I needed to make sure he was dead before I could let up.

As he was falling, he charged up a cero in his hand, and shot it at me.

"A cero"! I said out loud as I raised my blade to block it. As it collided with my blade, I put my power behind it as I split the thing in two with ease. Then as I looked down to see where Grimmjow was, he was nowhere to be seen. I threw out my senses and felt him come up behind me. I quickly spun around and blocked his strike, sending us flying away from each other.

We then charged again, both of us roaring out as we did. My voice began to no longer sound like my own, but Hichigo's instead as he fed me his power through the mask. As we collided in midair, Grimmjow began to swing wildly, showing that he was getting frustrated. I blocked each and every one of his strikes with ease. As our swords crashed again, I knew he was almost finished. I smirked behind my mask.

"It's over, Grimmjow". I said as I pushed him away from me enough for me to build up a really strong slash. I would finish him off with this next blow. Just as I was bout to deliver the final blow, my mask cracked and shattered. My eyes widened in shock.

_'My mask... Wait! That wasn't thirty seconds'!_ I thought in confusion as my body suddenly felt so tired. Grimmjow looked at me in surprise for an instant, before a dark grin set on his face.

"Your luck's run out soul reaper"! He said as he slashed me across the chest. I was so dazed that I couldn't react. I didn't even feel it when his blade pierced my flesh either, but I was sent flying towards the ground.

_'Dammit...'._

Shaun's POV

It was strange fighting against Luppi. He only seemed to do minor damage to the soul reaper Yumichika when the idiot had charged him. Luppi then looked at the other arrancar named Yammy and told him to let him fight all eight of us. He said that it was so tedious to waste time fighting one on one battles. Then he went to release his Trepadora.

Captain Hitsugaya tried to stop him by using his bankai, but failed.

"Strangle, Trepadora". Luppi said as Captain Hitsugaya continued to charge at him. He was pushed back by a huge tentacle. He only just managed to block it with his ice wings.

"You must be kidding. Is that all you got. I'd expected more damage from your full release". Toshiro said seriously.

"Ha ha! That was nicely done. I honestly thought you weren't going to be able to block that attack. I have to admit, I'm a little surprised. I guess you soul reaper captains are pretty tough huh? I'll have to watch my step. But just think, that attack, the one you were able to block just now... Would you be able to stop it if it were eight times stronger"? He ran off at the mouth as he showed off his released state.

_'His Trepadora sure looks different when their fused doesn't it'?_ Kuro Kori aske quietly from her icy domain.

_'Who gives a damn if it looks different or not. Just get this stupid battle over with'._ Kuga said aggitatedly.

_'Someone's in a bad mood'._ I thought.

_'Isn't he always though'._ Kuro Kori offered.

_'Shut up'._ As I was having my little chit-chat with my zanpakuto and hollow, Luppie attacked Hitsugaya and dropped him to the ground like a fly.

_'Ouch man'._ That had to hurt.

That was when Luppi began using his tentacles to attack all of us. Emma, Luna, Hinami, Yumichika, Rangiku, Ikkaku, and myself were getting slapped around by Luppi's Trepadora. I let myself take a few hit, even though I could have easily dodged them. I wasn't a hakuda/hoho expert for nothing, but I was playing it low as Luppi attacked.

If he was acting the way he was, this mission must have a time limit. He and his arrancar buddies would have to leave, and no one would be the wiser of Luppi's identity. Not to mention, the fact that he wanted to fight all of us was a sure sign that he was making sure that Yammy over there and the other weird arrancar wouldn't be able to kill the soul reapers in battle.

Though a surprise element came in with the arrival of Kisuke Urahara. The coat wearing ex-soul reaper took on Yammy. I knew that he could handle himself just fine though. What I was worried about though, was the arrancar on the other side of town, fighting Ichigo.

Dominique was sure to be pissed about this.

_'When she get's back, I'm staying far away from her. She'll probably kill that arrancar fighting Ichigo by tearing him to shreds'._ I felt a tiny shudder go though me. When Dominique meant it, she could get seriously scary. Just like in her fight with that dud Johnathan. He was still in the infirmery at the barracks, but at least he was alive. It was obvious that she held back at that last second and didn't kill him when she could have.

Oh well, it was time to get my head back in the game and fight the fake battle with Luppi.

Luppi's POV

I was surprised at first when I saw Twinkle-Toes(Shaun) and Inu Ears (Emma) here, but then again, they were appart of Ryu-chan's section. They fought against me, but they really weren't even trying as I bashed at them with my Trepadora. They were thankfully playing along like the smart kids they were.

I'd wrapped everyone up with my tentacles, keeping them from fighting against the others and yet I wasn't really hurting them. I'd been flirting with the orange haired hottie with big boobls. I knew that it was Piair's side in me that was talking as Louis's side gagged.

"I don't know if anyone's ever told you this before but you've got a smokin body. Yes indeed, you have got it going on". As Piair said this, Louise brought up a tentacle and caused spikes to grow out of it, "Wonder how you'd look if I punched you full of holes". As I said this, I'd felt Kisuke Urahara's reiatsu heading this way. As I was about to touch her with the spikes, a red attack that sounded like a scream cut through the two tentacles I'd been using.

I made my eyes widen in shock, even though I wasn't surprised. Kisuke looked at me from under his bucket hat. He knew me but acted like he didn't though for the sake of my mission. Yammy helped me with that little thing though when he went after Kisuke. I watched as they swung their swords at each other for a few moments, but then Wonderwise randomly set off a bala at Kisuke.

He wasnt' able to dodge it, and his right shoulder was smoking from the attack. Then it appeared that Yammy had snuck up behind him and blasted him with another bala. Though I was able to see that he made a switch with a gigai, though I didn't see where he'd hidden it, which was wierd. After he'd cause the fake Kisuke to land on the ground, he blasted him with over twenty balla shots.

I listened to Yammy as he gloated about beating Kisuke. I made myself looke bored as I looked back at him.

"That's the guy who got in my way. Stupid Yammy. I wanted to kill him. Oh well, let's get back to the matter at hand people". I said as I turned my attention back to my captives. They were all glaring at me, especially the orange haired chick.

_'This really is fun. Oh well, time to taunt them a little more. That little captain from before is starting to power up his attack. I've got about twenty seconds to make myself look like I dropped my guard'._ I thought to myself with a smirk.

"I mean seriously, what was that hippie thinking? Rushing in here, making it look like he was gonna be the hero, and then getting killed like that. I guess there's no where to hide when you're outnumbered even if it's eight to seven". That was when the chick spoke up.

"You know. I really hate men who don't shut up. They make me sick". She said with heavy venom in her voice. I mentally smirked, but outwardly I narrowed my eyes. I felt the captain was just about to make his move, so I decided to amp it up a bit.

"Have you forgotten who's tentacles wrapped around you? If you piss me off, I'll turn you into swiss cheese"! I said as I went to move my tentacles to attack, then suddenly they were encased in ice.

_'Right on time. I'll make sure to revert back before I get frost bitten'._ Trepadora said with a sigh. I turned to look back in shock at three tentacles that were encased in ice.

"What the hell"!? I then looked up to see the little captain flying in the air with his ice wings.

"You let your guard down". He said calmly.

"You're still alive"? I said in complete shock that was so fake.

"My Hyorinmaru is the ultimate ice zanpakuto. You can shatter it all you like, but it will always reform". I jerked around as if I was going to defend myself. I unrapped the tentacles that were around the others as if I was going to use them to attack.

"Dammit"!

"Don't even bother. It's over now. You gave me too much time to prepare. Your weapon may have eight arms, but mine has all the water in the atmosphere". As he said this, he raised his sword, and I was surrounded with ice pillars. I looked around in shock and fear.

"What..."? After I said that, I began chanting under my breath for a barrier kido.

"Sennen Hyoro". He said as he turned his sword as if he were turning a key. As the pillars began closing in, I quickly brought my tentacles around me and activated the high level barrier. As the ice trapped me inside the barrier, I remained safe thanks to the kido. I paused for a minute to see if he would do anything else, but apparently he wasn't.

I let out a big sigh and sat down in the barrier as Trepadora reverted herself back into her sword form. I decided to kick back and relax until this battle was over. Aizen would most likely use a negacion to get us out of here. I would allow the barrier to release just as it would come so that I'd have some ice on me before I left to make it look believable.

_'This was fun. Still doesn't beat a normal day at the Shadow Academy'._ I thought to myself as I waited for the battles to end.

Me: Sorry it's a few days late, but this was a super long chapter. Over nineteen pages. Wow.

Dominique: Whatevs.

Me: So how was the stab in the gut.

Dominique: (Gives me the finger)

Shiva: Johnnyboy's really country "fried" now.

Me: And his hollow.

Shiva: Him too.

Me: And what's even better is that he was based on a real person who is exactly like that and deserves to be crispied like that. Sigh, if only...(Evil smile)

Dominique: Hehe.

Me: Shut up.

Dominique: I can't wait to beat the living crap out of-!

Me: SHUT UP! You'll give away too much!

Shiva: I tink they probably already know.

Me: ...oh well. (Walks away whistling)

Shiva and Dominique: ...

You Call Me A Bitch (Like It's A Bad Thing) by Halestorm

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	28. Goodbye Halcyon Days

Me: I just found out something so aweful that it almost made me cry!

Shiva: What.

Me: THE BLEACH ANIME HAS STOPPED!

Dominique: What about the manga?

Me: Thankfully Tite Kubo Sensei is still writing it.

Shiva: Whew. That's a relief.

Dominique: But the anime has ended?

Me: Yeah. They stopped it after episode 366. Right when Ichigo gets his powers back in the Fulbringer arc! I am pissed man!

Shiva: What about the Thousand Years Blood War?

Me: Well that's still being writen...well drawn too, so I don't know, plus it's in Japanese. Man, I need to learn that language! If anybody has a free way to learn a new language, please PM me! I am desperate! Plus I wanna go to Japan one day so I need to learn anyway!

Shiva and Dominique: Yes you do need to learn.

Me: How can you guys even say anything about that?

Dominique: We speak perfect Japanese.

Shiva: Duh. Baka.

Me: That's only because I wrote you like that.

Shiva and Dominique: ...(Nothing to say about that)

Me: I own nothing but my writers insanity and these two whiners.

Shiva and Dominique: ...Fuck off. (Both leave)

Me: Hehe. Anyway. Here's the next chapter people. XD

Oh and also I forgot to add those who reviewed in the last chapter so I'll state both sets of reviewers.

Chapter 26: TheTygersSereneChaos, Thunder Claw03, and ultima-owner

Chapter 27: Thunder Claw03, ultima-owner, and bleachlover107

Wow, that's not a whole lot of reviews...but then again. People have school, and I'm trying to go to college myself, and get a job too, so I know how it feels. Thanks though for the reviews guys!

**Chapter 28: Goodbye Halcyon Days**

Dominique's POV

I flew through the shadow gate and stepped into the sky. I felt myself stagger as the reiatsus of several arrancars ran over my senses. I recognized two of them; Yammy, and Grimmjow from before, as well as another one that I didn't recognize. Then there was a familiar reiatsu that made itself known.

_'That can't be. Luppi'?!_ The thought ran through my mind. If that really was Luppi's reiatsu, then that ment that Luise and Piair were involvled in this. I then noticed that Ichigo was fighting that guy Grimmjow. I twisted around and flew in the direction of Ichigo's hollified reiatsu.

I was about halfway there when I felt Ichigo's hollow reiatsu dissapate. I cursed and surged forward. I felt Rukia's reiatsu surge and join Ichigo's. I was almost there. I was jumping from rooftop to rooftop to locate them. The air grew cold and I saw a large mass of ice cover the street a short distance away. I managed to spot Ichigo and Rukia, who seemed to be trying to dislodge a blade from his wrist.

That was when the person who was incased inside of the ice broke free and grabbed Rukia's face. It was Grimmjow! I got to a close enough rooftop where I saw that Grimmjow was about to cero off Rukia's head. I quickly lifted my right arm to point at Grimmjow's hand that held Rukia's head. I charged a super quick pin point cero and fired it at his hand.

The cero collided with his hand and forced him to stagger away from Rukia. It left the three of them in surprised shock. Rukia shook in delayed fear from almost getting killed. Ichigo looked up at me in surprise and Grimmjow looked up at me in shock as I drew my Zangetsu and rested it on my shoulder. I set a serious and slightly annoyed look appear on my face.

"I swear. I leave for half a day and Traitor Bastard Aizen kicks off the war early. Dammit. Look at you Ichigo. You look like you've been to Hell, Hueco Mundo, and the Dangai, with a side trip to New York's China Town on the side". I said with a smirk on my face, but I knew my eyes were probably completely silver by now with my anger, my reiatsu was coming off of me in waves, also signaling my anger.

"D-Dominique"?! Ichigo said in shock. Grimmjow looked up at me with narrowed eyes.

"Who the hell are you"? He said rudely. I sneered at him, baring my teeth.

"I don't have to answer to you. This is the second time I've found my boyfriend beaten all to hell from the likes of you, and for another matter, it really doesn't matter who the hell I am cause I'm about to kick your ass into oblivion". I growled at him while pointing my Zangetsu at him threateningly. He glared at me for a second before speaking.

"You're right. It doesn't matter who you are because I'm about to kill you"! He said as he wrenched his blade from Ichigo's arms, and shot up into the air at me. I brought my blade forward and blocked his zanpakuto with ease. He was snarling at me, I kept my face emotionless though.

He drew back and I dodged his blade this time, he ended up destroying someone's house. Thankfully, nobody was home at the moment. A tic mark appeared on my head. I flew up higher into the air to keep him from doing anymore damage to the area with his reckless style of fighting.

"You fight like a child. Not only do you not have any sense to not destroy something when I dodge your attacks, you have the nerve to actually fight while you're missing your left arm". I said in a bored voice. Grimmjow looked at me in surprise for a moment before laughing.

"I didn't need the arm so I got rid of it". This time, I laughed.

"Oh really. I believe that you were on the dishing end of Aizen's cruel and unusual punishment. Let me guess, Aizen has no respect for his pawns in his sick twisted little game". I sneered at the ex-espada. His eyes narrowed and he doubled the strength behind his attacks. I blocked them and forced him back with a strong thrust of my blade. With him not having two arms, and the damage he'd already recieved, I didn't even need my bankai to overpower him.

_'I think that I'll take this up a notch though'._ I thought to myself as I summoned my mask. Grimmjow looked at me in what looked like a mix between shock and fear.

"That mask! It's just like that other soul reaper's over there. So you are like him". I shook my head as I rushed at him.

"I told you already. It doesn't matter who or what I am, just that you're about to die". I said as I brought my blade down on him. He only just managed to block it and was sent flying towards the ground. I sonidoed behind him, curled my fingers into claws, and focused my hollow energy into the palm of my hand for a cero.

"What the hell"?! He said as he jumped up into the sky; perfect for what I was about to do. I didn't want anymore distruction on the ground.

"I'm getting tired of fighting against you. So I'm gonna wrap this up". I finished charging up the cero in my hand and pointed it at Grimmjow. I released it and managed to see Grimmjow shooting a quick cero of his own to try and block some of the damage of my attack. The resulting explosion shook the atmosphere.

_'Not a bad move. It might have left him with some third degree burns though'._ I thought to myself. I landed on the ground and saw Grimmjow trying to stand up. He was bloodied and wounded badly from fighting both Ichigo and myself. He was finished for sure.

"Fuck...". Grimmjow snarled. I began walking down to the ground towards him to finish him off.

"You blocked my cero with one of your own to reduce the damage. Not bad dude". I said from behind my mask with a bored tone in my metalic voice.

"Fuck off! Grind-"! I tensed in readyness for his attack, but suddenly, that other arrancar Ulquiorra from earlier stopped him from releasing his zanpakuto. Grimmjow looked at him with pure hate as he growled, "Ulquiorra...".

"Our objective has been achieved. We're heading back". Ulquiorra said just as a negacion enveloped them.

_'What objective'?_ I thought to myself as I released my mask and straitened out of my stance. I knew that they were out of my reach, and also that they couldn't touch me either. I looked back and saw three other negacion off in the distance as well. I looked up as Ulquiorra looked down at both Ichigo, Rukia, and myself with his emotionless eyes. He stepped into the garganta the negacion had come from before turning away from us.

As soon as the garganta slammed shut I rushed over to where Rukia and Ichigo were. I noted that Rukia only had a slightly singed mark on her face, she could treat that on herself. Ichigo, on the other hand, had much more severe wounds. I ran over to him and started checking where the worst of the injuries were at.

He had several small lacerations on his body, a large slash across his chest, stab wounds from where Grimmjows sword was embedded in his wrist, and from what I felt, three broken ribs. I filled my palms with energy and began to heal the worst of his wounds with a healing shadow.

"Rukia, are you okay"? I asked as she sat a little ways away from us as I healed Ichigo. I didn't hear an answer so I looked at her. She was looking down with a serious expression on her face, but there was a little bit of fear still in her eyes. She knew that she'd almost been killed by literally looking death in the face. Ichigo was looking at me with a frustrated look, so I turned my attention to him, "Now what's with you"? I asked him seriously.

"I almost freak'n had him. If only my fucking mask wouldn't have broken". He growled with his teeth bared in anger. I sighed and grinned at him as I cupped his face with the one hand I wasn't using to heal his body.

"Ichigo, this was the first time you'd used your bankai along with hollification. Do you not remember your battle with Byakuya? You use up much more reiatsu in your bankai state than when you normally do. Even though you used your mask you used up about three times as much reiatsu as you would have if you'd have just been using your shikai. In other words, if you fight hollified while in bankai, then expect shorter time and serious fatigue when your mask breaks". He looked up at me and sighed once before smiling apologetically.

"Sorry. I know I shouldn't beat myself up over it. I just need to get stronger". He admitted as he looked at me calmly. I beamed at him.

"I'm glad you understand. Now let's get back home and make sure that everybody else is okay. I patched you up mostly, but now you're own body must begin to heal itself. A good nights sleep is the best thing for you right now until I can heal the lesser wounds. I've healed the worst of the wounds so you're not in danger of death, I'm off to go help with the others and to help Tessai and Urahara heal up Toshiro and them". He nodded to me and stood up, wincing a little at the pain.

"Okay. I'll see you later". He said as he leaned down to kiss me quickly. I smiled up at him as we broke appart. I then turned to Rukia who was also standing up.

"Could you make sure that Ichigo gets back to his house? He needs to rest at home for tonight. I'll be there as well, I'll also have an excuse for how Ichigo got banged up for Isshin when I get there". Rukia nodded.

"Of course. See you later then". She turned and went to leave. I needed to say something though before she left.

"Rukia. Don't blame yourself. What that guy did was a dirty move. I really hate people who don't fight like how warriors should. I'm glad I was able to make it in time, so see ya". I said as I shunpoed away. I was only a short distance away before I stopped.

_'He's here alright'._ I thought to myself as I recognized the energy.

"Come on out...Shinji". Shinji stepped from the shadows of one of the buldings.

"I guess nothing gets by you anymore, huh"? He asked with his wierd smile.

"Nope. Were you spying on my fight"? I asked. He looked away and scratched his head.

"You can't blame me for being curious. Not bad by the way". He said with his weird smile. I shook my head and shunpoed over to where the soul reapers were at as well as Emma and Shaun. Urahara was already there and helping them out. Tessai eventually got there and assisted us with getting the Hitsuguya team back to Urahara's place.

Even Captains Luna and Hinami had been injured in the fight. Though not as badly as Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Rangiku had been. Emma and Shaun looked at me seriously as they assisted with the healing of the others. After I helped heal them I headed back to Ichigo's house after grabbing my body from my house. I was met with Ichigo's dad at the door.

"You're here to see Ichigo"? Isshin asked me seriously. I looked around and noticed that there was no one else within hearing range.

"Yeah. You know what happened"? I asked. He nodded before moving out of my way to let me into the house. I saw Yuzu and Karin in the kitchen, from the smell of it Yuzu was cooking dinner. I made my way up to Ichigo's room quietly. I opened to door to find Rukia leaning against his dresser while looking seriously at her soul phone.

"The stupid reiha interference still hasn't cleared up yet". She grumbled to herself, not noticing me as I entered the room. I sat down in the chair at his desk. As I went to sit down I saw that Ichigo was sleeping deeply in his bed. With all that reiatsu usage, he would sleep until tomorrow. Rukia looked up at me as I sat down.

"Hey Rukia. How long's he been asleep"? I nodded towards Ichigo.

"About thirty minutes, if my guess is correct. He had to deal with a his worried family for about an hour". I nodded. I could smell the blood in the air, some of his lesser wounds were still leaking blood. At least he had bandages on. Though it didn't stop the scent from permeating the air. I then looked at Rukia and noticed that her expression was one of hidden worry.

"What is it Rukia. What's wrong"? I asked. She sighed once before answering.

"I know he's been training with you. That power that he showed in his battle earlier, what was that"? She asked nervously, as if she were afraid that I'd get mad at her. I smiled calmly at her.

"It's called hollification. Ichigo and myself are not normal soul reapers as you know. We're shadow shinigami. We're part of squad 0". She nodded.

"I know that, but how can you have that much power within you? It should be impossible for a soul reaper to posess the powers of a hollow". She said more to herself than to me. I giggled once before answering.

"Yeah, it should be impossible, but it's true. We shadow shinigami are different because we're born human, but our inner potentals come out at an early age. It's not dependent on lineage, sex, race, or anything else. We are what we are, because we are those who just happen to unlock something within us that gives us huge amounts of power. My people don't fully understand it ourselves, but we're not too concerned because we tend to be laid back in the ways of the world". Rukia looked at me in confusion.

"But why"?

"Because my people were first created during a time of war. Have you ever heard of the War of Shadows. Soul reapers know it most likely as the Dark Times. It was a time before my people existed. There were only soul reapers, humans, and hollows. That was it. My people rose from those human children who were affected by the huge amounts of reiatsu left from the fighting". Rukia's eyes widened in shock, but I continued.

"When the first squad 0 captain, Ichigo Kagenoyami led the others and banished the hollows from the World of the Living, erased the humans' memories, and sent the soul reapers back to the Soul Society. Then they created the sqaud 0 realm and bam, the foundation was set for what it became for today. We ended up having our hollow powers along with our soul reaper powers because of the two clashing energies that filled the land affected the first ones. Over the many melennia that have passed, our power has evolved and becomed a constant thing that sets us appart from the three races. All in all, it's what sets us appart that makes us stronger". I explained the long told tale of the squad's origin, though not in detail.

"Wow. I never knew. Just wow...". She seemed at a loss for words.

"Yeah, I know. It's alot to take in". I said with a serene smile as I looked out the window.

"I think I'm going to go outside and relax for a little while. I'll see you later". She said as she got up and went to the door. As she opened it, we both saw Yuzu and Karin there with food in their hands. Yuzu was the one to speak up.

"Umm...is it okay if we eat in here"? She asked us. Rukia smiled at them.

"I'm sure your brother would like that". She said as she went outside. I nodded and waved them in. They smiled at me and stepped inside. They sat down on the floor and started eating.

"Do you want some Dominique"? Yuzu asked as she showed me a bowl with rice, soy sause, and chicken dumplings in it. I nodded and noticed the extra pair of chopsticks on the plate.

"Yuzu thought that you'd be hungry". Karin said with a smile. I smiled back at them.

"Yeah, I am kind of hungry and this smells delicious". I said as I ate my bowl of rice beside them. Soon the girls grew sleepy and I placed pillows under their heads and blankets over them. I then moved the plates off to the side so they wouldn't get broken. I then grabbed me a blanket and pillow myself, and leaned against his desk. I rested my head forward and soon fell asleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Orhihime's POV

I carefully moved through Ichigo's window and into the room. It was such a weird sensation walking through stuff, it even somehow allowed me to climb up to Ichigo's second story window. I looked down and saw Ichigo sleeping on his bed.

"Hehe, sorry. There are a lot of people who I'd like to say goodbye to. Tatsuki, Chad, Uryu, Rukia...". I felt a blush rising up on my cheeks as I looked down at Ichigo.

"Hmm. ...Mmm". I heard someone mumble, causing me to jump in surprise. I looked over Ichigo's bed to see his sisters sleeping on the floor. I saw three plates cleaned of food near his dresser. I smiled at them.

"So Yuzu and Karin wanted to eat dinner with thier brother. They must have missed him". I then blushed deeply as the thought registered with me. I was actually in Ichigo's room for the first time. I noticed that his scent was everywhere, but also...Dominique's scent was as well. That was when I noticed a third person on the floor.

Dominique was sleeping in here too, she leaned against Ichigo's dresser with her head bowed down in slumber. I sighed. We had talked about how she'd fallen for him. I knew that she hadn't ment for it to happen. I believed her, she was the one for Ichigo, though I still had feelings for him, but I knew that he loved her. There was something about her that made him really smile, something about her made his scowl go away.

I'd once hoped that one day that would have been me who would have made his scowl go away. I guess it was never ment to be though. I remembered what she'd said to me when we were in the Soul Society.

_Flashback_

I found Dominique walking around with a contented look on her face. She was walking in the direction of where Ichigo was training with Captain Kenpachi and Yachiru's squad. I thought about calling out to her, but I didn't know really what for. Everything in my head just made it seem like I was a jealous witch. I was about to turn away and walk back towards squad 4 when I heard Dominique's voice call me.

"Hey, Orihime"! She said with a smile on her face. I walked up to her with a cheerful smile on my own face. I knew I shouldn't be feeling like this, but it was like there was tightness in my chest and it felt like a rain cloud hung over my head. I didn't like feeling this way.

"H-hi Dominique. How's it going"? I asked.

"It's alright. I wanted to talk to you though. I've been trying to find you amungst these stupid hallways. I swear, soul reapers seem to like making dead ends for people to get lost in". She said as she scratched the back of her head in embarassment. Then she turned around and jumped on top of the building that made up the corridor. She turned to look back at me.

"Well you coming or what"? She asked.

"Oh! Sure". I said as I tried to get up to the top of the building, but I couldn't find any hand holds to get me up. Dominique noticed my delema right away and offered a hand. I reached up and she easily pulled me up as if I didn't weigh anything. After she helped me up, she sat down on the tiled roof crosslegged, and I sat down on the roof as well with my legs tucked up underneith me. She looked at me for a second before her face turned from the normal calm look to serious.

"I wanted to talk to you about Ichigo". She said seriously.

"O-oh". I really didn't know what else to say.

"I knew you liked him, a lot. I knew it ever since I first came here really". She admitted as she looked down at the ground. She shifted and pulled her sword from her back before setting it in her lap. Her fingers played with the binding absently. I took a deep breath and spoke up.

"Yeah. I did". I said. I technically still do, but I can't do anything about that now, and I wasn't about to admitt it either.

"And I know you still do". She said with a small smile on her face.

_'Dang it'._ I thought to myself.

"I just want you to know though, that I hadn't intended on stealing him away from you. I mean, I came to Japan for a school trip, and for some sight-seeing. I didn't come here to hook up with anybody, I just wanted to explore the World of the Living away from where my section was stationed. And now look, we're in a war with a rouge soul reaper captain and his two goons. And I have a boyfriend". She said as she put her hand on her forehead as if she had a headache.

"You said something about a section, what is that"? I asked. I was genuily curious. I mean, she obviously didn't come from the Soul Society, otherwise this whole thing probably could have been stopped without any fighting at all, or at least a whole lot less fighting. Plus, when I'd seen her take off for Sokyoku Hill when Aizen was attacking Renji up there, her eyes had changed to black and gold and two white wings with blue marks on them came from her back as she took off into the sky.

Ichigo hadn't even batted an eye at the sight and followed her immediately. Seeing her eyes though, made me think of a hollow. It made me think of my brother Sora. In truth, it had scared me at the time. I turned to look back at Dominique and she was smiling at me.

"My section...you see, I'm not a soul reaper as you probably already suspect. I'm a shadow shinigami. A human born with soul reaper and hollow powers. We shadow shinigami work in squad 0, also known as the lost squad. Emma, Shuan, Ichigo, and I are all shadow shinigami. I'm the leader of section 13; a unit that protects a designated area in the World of the Living, which was America for my section, but we got some vacation time and came to Japan. Though this has sure been a hell of a vacation". Dominique said as she looked out over the Seireitei.

"I see. How long have you had your powers then"? I asked.

"About five years now. I first got them on Halloween night when I was ten". So young? She's been fighting hollows from the age of ten?

"It must have been scary at first". I said quietly. I knew that I wouldn't have been able to do it. She had such a calm and commanding presence, she was like the captains here almost.

"It was, but I learned to deal with it. I had a bit of help, then I joined squad 0, and then life was just great". She said with a happy smile,"But anyway, I'm sorry about any insult I might have done to you by getting with Ichigo. I didn't mean to cause you any pain". She said as her face turned back to seriousness.

"O-oh, it's okay really. You don't have to appologize". I said as I waved my hands in front of me frantically.

"I know, but I wanted to. Anyway, I'm sure you'll find someone for you one day". I was taken aback by this.

"You really think so"?

Yeah. One day, you will find the person you're destined to meet. It may be in the strangest of places, you might even hate him at first, but just trust your heart. It'll guide you. I may not be much in the ways of a romantic, but I know enough from novels, and from just being with Ichigo in this short time, your heart is always right. Good luck Orihime". She said as she stood up. She swung her zanpakuto onto her back and began walking acoss the tiles of the roof.

_'Wow. She really is a nice person'._ I thought to myself. Then she turned back to look at me.

"You might wanna get back soon. I heard that the members of squad 11 were going drinking tonight. You probably don't wanna get in the middle of that so it might be best to head back to the squad 4 barracks". She said as she leaped gracefully onto another building. Soon she was gone and I was left alone there.

_'Follow my heart... Thank you Dominique'._ I thought to myself as I jumped down from the building to head back to squad 4.

_End Flashback_

I smiled to myself as I leaned against Ichigo's curtains. I'd planned on just saying goodbye to him, but now I got to say goodbye to four people. Ulquiorra wouldn't know either. I felt a little smug that I was able to go against them, even though it wasn't intentiontional. I looked at the four people in the room. I would do one other thing though before I left.

I made sure to heal Ichigo's body of any wounds before I went to leave. This was the last thing I could do before I went off to make sure they had time to prepare for the upcoming battle. This time I would help them.

"Thank you Ichigo. Thank you Dominique. Goodbye".

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Ichigo's POV

THUMP!

"Ack"! A pained moan escaped my mouth as I clutched my head in pain. I just freak'n fell out of bed.

"Falling out of bed. How lame is that? Ahh, my freak'n head". That was when I noticed something off as I rubbed my head where it landed on the floor. The wound on my hand was completely gone.

_'Dominique must have healed it while I was sleeping"._ I felt that Dominique was downstairs. She must be eating breakfast. I then caught something. It didn't feel like Dominique's energy on my hand. I brought my hand up to my forehead and tried to tell who's energy was there.

"That's-". That was when I was interrupted by Toshiro at my window in his soul reaper form.

"Orihime's reiatsu? Most likely. Come with me Kurosaki, and get Kudo. We have a situation". He said before shunpo-ing from my window. At that moment, Dominique opened the door with a tray of food in her arms.

"I got breakfast"! She said cheerily. She then paused as she noticed the tense atmosphere. She then asked, "What happened"? Her voice instantly serious.

"We got to get to Orihime's place. I don't know what's going on, but Toshiro just came by. He said for both of us to be there". I said as I grabbed Kon. I left him to eat with Tsumi while Dominique and I flew from my window. I noticed that all the wounds from yesterday were completely gone as we flew through the air. When we got to Orihimes house we walked into a room that had some huge tv looking thing against the wall.

"Ichigo, Dominique". Rukia said as we entered the room. I also noticed that Emma, and the rest of Dominique's team as well as my sister. It didn't seem like the small room could hold everybody, but somehow it did. Toshiro looked at Rangiku questioningly.

"Is the reiha interferrence gone"? He asked her.

"Yes sir". She asnwered.

"Open a Link". He said, and the screan came to life to show Captain Ukitake.

"Ukitake. Where's the Head Captain"? Toshiro asked in surprise.

"I had him direct the feed to me first. There's something that I feel I should tell you myself".

"Why"?

"Because I was the last person to see Orihime Inoue before she entered the Senkaimon to enter the World of the Living". Everybody froze in shock. My own eyes opened.

_'What the hell'? _

"Judging from your reations, I assume that she never arrived".

"What's going on Jushiro"? Dominique asked as she stepped forward to the front. Emma and Shaun immediately moved to her flanks. The similarity of their postures was frightening. I saw thier expressions and noticed that they were all the same. Their expressions had hardened and serious with their arms crossed. I stepped up a little bit myself as my own desire to stand with them flared.

"You know something that we don't". Emma said.

"Spill it". Shaun then commented. Ukitake looked at the three of them seriously.

"Her fate is uncertain. The two guards we assigned to her came back alive. According to them, Orihime was abducted by arrancars, and possibly killed". The blood drained from my face.

"Killed"?! I said out loud in my shock.

"Captain Ukitake"! Rukia yelled.

"I know. I'm sorry I had to say it. We don't know anything for sure. All we know is that an arrancar appeared and she dissappeared with him". Anger flared through me. I stepped forward and started yelling.

"That's not true! There is no way that Orihime's dead"! I held up my hand for everyone to see. I then continued my explination, "My wrist was injured in yesterday's battle, Dominique didn't have time to heal it, and suddenly, it was completely healed this morning. Not only that! There were also traces of her reiatsu on my wrist! And you're telling us that she might be dead"?! I yelled.

"Yes. It is most regrettable". I heard a deep voice come on the feed. It turned out to be Head Captain Yamamoto. Rukia looked at him in shock.

"Head Captain...sir"? She stuttered.

"Regrettable? Really? I think that's the understatement of the mellennia"! Dominique hissed in anger between her clenched teeth. Her reiatsu simmering in rage.

"If what you say is true. Then perhaps Orihime is indeed alive. That implies a betrayle. Had she been abducted, she would not have been able to move around freely and allowed to visit you. In other words, she must have joined the arrancars of her own free will". Both Dominique and myself went to retaliate against his wild accusation when Renji grabbed our shihakushos.

"Stop. You'll only make things worse". He said to us before adressing the head captain, "We understand Head Captain Yamamoto. As the leader of the advance team, I will go to Hueco Mundo and bring the traitor, Orihime Inoue to her senses". I looked at him in surprise. He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes and smiled supportively at me.

"Renji...".

"You must not". Each of us looked at him in shock, "Now that we know that the arrancars are ready for battle, the entire Hitsuguya advance team will return and defend the Soul Society". Rukia stepped forward.

"So you want us to just abandon Orihime"? She asked.

"Presicely. We cannot let the fate of one human affect the fate of millions". At that comment, Dominique looked like she was about to flip out on him, but Rukia spoke up first.

"With all due respect Head Captain. I cannot obey that order". Rukia said hesitantly.

"I suspected as much. Fortunately, I took preventative measures". I felt a ripple of energy behind me. Everyone turned around and saw a Senkaimon open up in the back of the room to show both Byakuya and Kenpachi.

"You heard Old Man Yama. Come with us". Kenpachi said in a bored tone.

"Do not resist. We've been ordered to use force if nessesary". Byakuya said as he looked at Rukia. I looked down in subdued anger.

"Fine. I'm not going to ask the Soul Society for help. I'll go to Hueco Mundo and save her myself". I glared at the head captain. Dominique nodded along beside me.

"Damn strait". She said defiantly.

"You must not". The old captain repeated.

"What"!? Dominique growled.

"We will require your assistance in the upcoming battle. We cannot allow you to waste your life or to do as you please. You will await for further orders". That was when Dominique lowered into a crouch and stepped forward towards the screen while growling. Her reiatsu began rising with her rage.

"The hell we will! We are shadow shinigami! We don't take orders from soul reapers"! Dominique snarled. Emma, Shaun, Claire, and Ronnie also stepped forward to stand at her side. Ronnie was the only one who wasn't completely in tune with the other. The desire to stand along side them was even stronger now. Emma was the next one to speak up.

"The day one of us bows to a soul reaper is the day you actually give us the respect we deserve". She glared at the screen. I could see the others looking at us in in mixtures of fear and shock. I squared my shoulders and took my place with the others. I was a shadow shinigami too, so I would stand with them. My sister did the same on Claire's flank. Together we probably looked like a pack of wolves about to go out on a hunt.

"We're squad 0. We'll do as we please". Shaun spoke up defiantly.

"You can't order us to stay put. You may be able to take your subordinates back to the Soul Society, you may spout your crappy orders, but we'll decide our own fate. If we choose to go, it's because of our own free will. You. Can. Not. Stop. Us. End transmition". Dominique said as she cut off the screen with a snap of her wrist as she straitened out of her crouch. Each of us did the same before waiting for Dominique's orders.

She turned away from the screen and turned to look at the soul reapers behind us. Then each of us looked back to where Rukia and Renji were standing with the other soul reapers. Two sides, two sets of warriors with thier own orders to follow. Everybody looked at us in shock, even Byakuya and Kenpachi were wide eyed.

I could feel the tension in the room. It was so heavy that you could almost see it, but then Dominique then stepped forward with no tension in her body. I expected her to defend our challenge as she had earlier, but she surprised me with a calm voice.

"I regret that you are unable to help us. We have our pride and our own codes of conduct. We don't give up on our friends. Just so you know, we may not follow orders from your Head Captain, but we'll accept help when given. Goodbye". She said as the soul reapers entered the Senkaimon. Rukia and Renji being the last to leave. Rukia looked at us in apology.

As soon as the Senkaimon closed, Dominique then turned to look at each of us as Emma, Shaun, Claire, and Ronnie relaxed completely. Nami and I followed suit.

"What are we going to do now"? Emma asked seriously.

"We're going to school. We'll move out tonight for Hueco Mundo. I want each of you to meet at Urahara's Shop at nine tonight. Get some rest, and be ready for anything that will come our way. I need to make plans and think through what the enemy's plans are. I will give the final orders at Urahara's tonight. Be prepared, the war has officially begun". She said as she exited the room alone, leaving the six of us to follow her orders.

"Wow. That's the first time I've ever seen Dominique like that. This is some serious shit, huh Shaun"? Emma said seriously as Shaun and her exited the room. Claire looked up at me.

"Don't worry Ichigo. Dominique knows what she's doing. Dominique will be at school soon too". Claire assured me as she and Ronnie also left. Nami looked a bit confused, but left to head over back to Urahara's place. I sighed and made my way back to my house.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

I paused when I was sure nobody was near me to just relax my body. All that anger and tension was bad for me, but I'd been seriously pissed. The old fart was lucky he was in the Soul Society, and not directly in front of me or I would have torn him to shreds with my own claws. After a short moment of calming down, I got back to business.

I made my way over to Urahara's Shop quickly. I'd stopped by Ichigo's house on the way there, got my body, and got dressed for school at my house without running into anybody thankfully. I had about a half hour before school started. Then again, it's been over a month since I've been to school. Great. This wasn't going to turn out all that well.

I made sure to pull out my cell phone and do something before I got to Urahara's. I texted Rose.

**THE WAR HAS BEGUN.** That was all that I wrote before snapping my phone shut and putting it back in my skirt pocket. Rose would be getting everybody ready now. Soon I made it to the front of Urahara's shop.

Urahara met me out on his doorstep. He ushered me in and we sat down at the table. Ururu handed me a cup of tea and I thanked her. Urahara looked at me seriously.

"Orihime's been captured". He didn't say it like a question, but like he already knew. I nodded.

"You had a feeling this would happen didn't you"? I asked.

"Yes. That was why I removed her from the front lines. I didn't anticipate this though". He said solemly. I sat straiter as the energies around me registered with my senses.

"I noticed that there are some residual energies here. You've been trying to make your own garganta"? I asked.

Yes. I've been working out how to create a garganta with soul reaper kido. Though I would like to study one up close to make some finishing touches. There's only so much you can do studying from affar". I sighed, knowing what he meant, and stood up. I charged my hollow energy into my fingertips and touched the air. The energy distorted the space and ripped open a garganta about the size of a human in the room.

"There you go. It'll only be open for ten minutes. So get your information as fast as you can. I'm heading to school". I said as I made my way to the door.

"Thank you Dominique". He said with a flourish of his fan.

"Don't mention it, just get it done. But I will ask something before I go". I paused before speaking, "You're doing this on the Soul Society's orders"? I asked seriously, not even bothering to turn around.

"Yes". I smirked to myself.

_'Looks like the soul reapers haven't totally abandoned us after all. This should turn out in our favor'._ I thought to myself before speaking out loud.

"Will the garganta be ready by tonight"?

"Yes. You and the rest of your group will be the first people to test it". I rolled my eyes as I stepped out the door and shut it behind me. So others would head to Hueco Mundo after us.

"Great, I get to be a soul reaper's guinea pig. Just freak'n peachy". I shrugged as I made my way to school.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

When I got there, the first bell rang. I got into the class room just in time for the late bell. Ms. Ochi was the first person I saw. She called for both Ichigo and myself to step up to the front of the class.

"So it looks like you two've finally come back. I was starting to worry that you didn't want to advance to the next grade. Huh"? She said as she alternatively banged her book on our heads. Both Ichigo and I kept our heads down and took the beating. She, after all, had a good reason to be pissed.

_'She doesn't have to literally hit us with the book though'._ I thought to myself as I got smacked on the head for the fifteenth time.

"Well say something, huh"!? Ms. Ochi said loudly.

"You got new glasses". Ichigo said.

"Thanks for noticing". She paused, "I got them three weeks ago"! She said as she chopped Ichigo on the head.

_'Ouch'._ I even felt that and I wasn't the one who got the hit. She went to hit me in the same manner as Ichigo, but I smartly moved out of her way, making her hand chop through empty air. I then quickly dragged Ichigo back to his seat with Ms. Ochi looking at me in confusion. I took my place behind him quietly as Ms. Ochi began her lecture with a tic mark still on her head.

Oh joy.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Ichigo and I went up to the roof to eat lunch together. I sat by him as we ate, both silent and both just enjoying sitting next to each other. I leaned against his side and began humming one of his favorite songs from my American music. He laid his head against my own while wrapping his right arm around my waist to hold me closer to him when he finished with his bento.

We just sat like that, enjoying each others company, and finding comfort in each other. We soon got up as the bell rang for next period. We both returned to class and I relaxed myself to prepare for the upcoming battles as I ran over possible plans that Aizen would be likely to come up with.

When the bell rang, signaling that the day was over with, Ichigo and I began walking down the hallway to leave the school. We would be heading to my house to leave our bodies there for safe keeping. That was when we heard loud feet running in the hallway.

"Ichigo, Ichigo, Ichigo, ICHIGOOOOO! What's UP! Ack"! Keigo yelled while running up beside us, only to get his head stomped to the ground by Mizuiro.

"Hey Ichigo! Hey Dominique! Where have you guys been for the last month. You haven't even answered the text I've sent you". He said with a smile. I flipped open my phone from my skirt pocket, and sure enough three text from Mizuiro. They were spaced pretty far appart too so it didn't seem wierd really, just the normal friendly concern. But I couldn't think about that.

_'How in the hell did he get my number? I didn't give it to him'?_ I thought while sweat dropping to myself. Ichigo turned to look at him with a smile on his face. I noticed it was his fake smile right away.

"Oh. Sorry, I've been kind of busy". He said. Which was the truth really. Mizuiro just looked at him in confusion. Then he relized something and began digging through his pockets.

"Oh yeah. I got some tickets for the screening of Bad Shield 2. Here ya go. We can go on a double date with our girlfriends". He said as he passed a ticket to both Ichigo and myself. I took it from him and smiled warmly at him.

"Thanks Mizuiro! That's really sweet". I said truthfully. Ichigo looked at his own ticket, a serious look on his face.

"When was it again"? He asked.

"The fifth of December". He said happily. Ichigo looked at me and then looked back to Mizuiro.

"I'll try to be back by then". He said before walking down the hallway.

"Me too. Gotta go visit family in America and all that jazz". I quickly made up the lie on the spot.

"Thanks Mizuiro". Ichigo said as we began walking down the hallway. I could hear Mizuiro calling our names half-heartedly behind us. That was when I heard the yell.

"ICHIGO"! Tatsuki yelled. Both Ichigo and I turned around to see Tatsuki panting heavily, as if she'd been running non-stop for days. I stepped forward.

"What's the matter Tatsuki"? I asked.

"Where's Orihime"? She asked. Her question was directed to Ichigo, not me, "She's not at her house. I can't sense her presence anywhere. I've looked for her everywhere, but I can't find her. You know though. You know where where she is though, don't you Ichigo". She glared at Ichigo, trying to get him to answer him. I watched as Ichigo's face changed from one of shock, to one of defiant arrogance.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I think you need to look around again". Ichigo said loudly. My eyes darted from Ichigo's face to Tatsuki's. She moved in a flash and had Ichigo by the collar of his shirt and pinned him against the window.

"Bite me"! She yelled loudly, "I can always sense her presence. Sometimes it gets weak like she's behind a wall or something, but yesterday it completely vanished. I know you know something about it. I know you do".

"I told you I don't know anything! Just listen to yourself"! Ichigo yelled back at her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Ichigo...". I whispered under my breath as I took a step forward.

"Do you think I'm an idiot? I've seen you. Going around, fighting in that black robe. Dominique too. Isn't it about time for you to tell me what the hell's going on around here, Ichigo". Tatsuki harshly whispered for only Ichigo and I to hear. Ichigo's eyes narrowed and a pained look came on his face.

"It's none of your business". He said darkly.

That was when Tatsuki punched him.

His head was hit so hard that it went through the glass window and he even staggered back from the force of her blow. Keigo ran forward and grabbed Tatsuki by her arms and arm locked her so she couldn't move while I ran up to Ichigo with Mizuiro at my side.

"Ichigo"! Both Mizuiro and I said at the same time. I knelt down beside him and tried to help him up as he wiped the blood from his nose. Tatsuki had a feral look on her face that rivaled a hollow's.

"I thought we were friends! How many times did I help you, when you were getting picked on, or other times when you were in trouble?! And now, you're keeping things from me. You idiot". She said brokenly as her head slumped forward and she stopped struggling against Keigo's hold. Ichigo stood up and I kept my hand on his shoulder.

"Ichigo...". I said quietly.

"I'm sorry. Keigo, Mizuiro. Take care of Tatsuki please. And stay far away from me. Come on Dominique". Ichigo said as he put his hands in his pockets and began walking down the hallway. I began following him.

"YOU IDIOT"! I heard Tastuki scream on last time, causing me to wince. I was a bit shocked at the way he acted, but I would get the info out of him in a little bit.

I turned back to the others just before moving too far down the hallway. I mouthed sorry to them before turning and jogging down the hallway to catch up with Ichigo. When I did catch up with him and we were out of everyone's sight, I smacked him upside the head. He winced and gripped the back of his head.

"Shit! Ow! What the heck was that for"? He looked at me questioningly. I shook my head.

"For two things actually. First, talking to your friends like that, and two, letting yourself get your head busted open in the first place. Now turn around so I can heal it". I said to him as I charged my hand up with bakudo number 12, Keikatsu. I ran it over the back of his head and the gash that was caused by the shattered glass vanished within seconds. Then I turned him around and moved it over his face to make sure that the nosebleed stopped.

"I'll explain everything when we get back". Ichigo said seriously to me. I could see the pain in his face from lying to his friends. I shook my head and reached up to cup his face.

"Ichigo. They already know quite a bit about us. You heard Tatsuki. She's seen us. Keigo too really. You're reiatsu didn't just rub off on Chad and Orihime when you first got your powers. The rest of your friends have been affected too". I smiled as I leaned up to kiss his cheek lightly.

"I know. It's just that I don't want them to put themselves in unnecessary danger because of me". He said as he leaned down to kiss my forehead. I sighed as I leaned into his chest.

"Relax Ichigo. We're going to Hueco Mundo tonight, and this war will be over sooner than we'd planned it to be. Just relax, and focus on saving Orihime from Aizen. Well get her back and take Aizen out while we're there". Rose already knows about this, she'll be getting ready for battle as well as the rest of the squad, and things will be alright". I said as I led Ichigo down the hallway and out of the school to head over to my house.

We had time to kill, and we needed the rest. We took this time to relax and just be with each other until the sun had set. So we simply sat on the couch in the living room and just sat in peaceful silence.

Then it was time to finally go. We were about to go into enemy territory, and the stakes were much higher this time.

Unlike the Soul Society, who have jails to put prisoners in when they are defeated, Hueco Mundo didn't have jails. If you lost a fight, you were dead. Simple as that. This world went by a completely different set of rules than the Soul Society.

There would be no chance for mistakes.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ichigo's POV

After spending some peace and quiet with Dominique, we began to make our way over to Urahara's. We both left our bodies at her house. Tsumi would guard them for us while we were gone. Kon was still at my house. He would take care of my family while I was gone.

When we got to Urahara's shop, he met us outside, smoking a pipe. I looked at Dominique's face and saw her grimace at it, but otherwise remained silent to the scent that was in the air from the tobacco. I personally didn't blame her there. It smelled awful. Urahara moved the pipe from his mouth and looked at us.

"Welcome you two. Everyone's already here and ready". He said as he led us inside and into the underground training room. As Dominique and I followed him, she explained something.

"Urahara suspected that Aizen would target Orihime for her powers. That's why he took her from the front lines. He thought that would be enough to protect her, but he didn't see this happening, and neither did I either. This bastard's really gonna pay now". Dominique said as her fist clenched at her sides.

"That's why I'm prepared to help out any way I can". Urahara said calmly as we walked towards our team.

"But that mean's going against the Soul Society". I said. I didn't want him to be in trouble with the Soul Society for going against what the stupid old man said.

"Ichigo, I'm here because I went against the Soul Society in the first place". He said with a small smile on his face.

"Well don't you look hopeless, Ichigo". Uryu's voice came from behind us as we were walking. I looked over in shock and saw Uryu sitting on a large boulder, dressed in his goofy looking quincy outfit. Then I heard another person approaching.

"Urahara told us everything, and we're going with you to Hueco Mundo". Came Chad's voice. I looked over to see him walking up to us. I looked at both him and Uryu. I knew that they weren't strong enough to fight there. It was too dangerous for them.

"Sorry guys, but you two just aren't strong enough-". I said before Chad interrupted me.

"Ichigo". He said as he charged at me with his right arm flaming with his reiatsu. I quickly drew my Zangetsu and blocked his strike. I felt the power behind his blow and to prove even more of a point, the boulder behind me dissintegrated with the power of his punch. I looked at him in shock.

"Nice Chad". Dominique laughed as she walked up to us. Chad looked at me seriously.

"Was that not strong enough Ichigo. Believe in us. We want to help". He said as he returned his arm back to normal. Urahara then walked up to us, followed by Nami, Emma, Claire, Shaun, and Ronnie at his side.

"Well Dominique. I believe this is your time to speak". Urahara said as he looked at us. Dominique nodded her head before going into her leader's voice.

"As you know, we need a team to head into Hueco Mundo to fight the arrancars and to rescue Orihime. This is the thing though. I believe Aizen wants to get us away from Karakura Town. With the Jureichi being inside of Karakura town, this will be the place he needs in order to try and create the Oken. So I want a team of people to stay here and guard Karakura town, because I have a strong feeling that Aizen will attack here when we go to Hueco Mundo. I have no clue when he will strike here so I want a battle ready counterstrike team". She said as she looked at all of us.

"Who's going to stay here then". Emma asked serioously. Dominique nodded.

"I want Emma, Shaun, Claire, and Ronnie to stay here and fight when the time comes. That will leave the invasion team to Ichigo, Chad, Nami, Uryu, and myself. I've sent out a text to Rose earlier today. I suspect that squad 0 will be here in a short time to prepare for battle. It will take time for everyone to assemble, but it'll get done. Can I trust you Emma to lead the World of the Living Team"? She asked Emma seriously. Emma stood strait and squared her shoulders.

"You got it. If Aizen comes here, he'll be mincemeat". She said with an evil smirk on her face as she pounded her right fist into her other hand.

"Excellent. Urahara"? She turned to look at the ex-soul reaper captain. He nodded to her, as if answering some question. I guessed that this was it.

Time to go.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Shaun's POV

"Well it looks like everybody's ready. Finally". Urahara said just before he shunpoed up to one of the two huge wooden beams sticking out from two huge boulders. I stood by my Emma's side with Claire and Ronnie as well as Urahara's gang as Dominique and the attack team readied themselves for departure.

Dominique stood at the head of the pack, always the natural leader with her expression hardened into a calm scowl that showed no emotion. Ichigo and Nami stood at her side with Uryu beside her in his slightly altered quincy outfit. Then there was Chad beside Ichigo with a shirt that had the squad 0 symbol on it...or maybe it was just a shirt with a rose on it, I couldn't be completely sure.

Urahara placed his cane on the wooden beam, reiatsu began pouring from it and into the wood. Dominique explained to us that he was opening a garganta with a soul reaper's kido since he didn't posess any hollow reiatsu to do so the normal way. This would be an experiment so that he might be able to send them back up in the form of members of the Soul Society since they really hadn't abandoned us.

"In my right hand, the stone that connects the worlds. In my left hand, the blade that binds existence. The black haired shepherd. The chair of the noose. I strike the ibis when the clouds gather". He chanted as the kido took effect. Reiatsu began to flow between the two beams and soon a slited garganta opened between them.

"Not bad". I murmured to Emma at my side.

"For a soul reaper that is". Emma finished for me with a smirk.

"This is the portal that the arrancar use to travel between the World of the Living and Hueco Mundo. This is called a garganta. Beyond this point there is no solid ground, only a chaos of reishi. You must create your own path out of that reishi to get to Hueco Mundo. You must go into the darkness to reach the land of the hollows". He said ominously.

"Urahara"? Ichigo spoke up.

"Yes Ichigo"?

"Could you please say something to my family for me. So that they won't worry about me". He said calmly. I saw Dominique look at him with a small smile on her face that, for an instant, completely relplaced her scowl.

"Of course. And what of your friends"? I silently laughed. They were about twenty feet behind me and were hiding behind a rock. They'd thought that they had managed to sneak into a place full of supernatural beings undetected. So wrong.

"I'll appologize to them when we get back". He said solemly.

"Alright then". Urahara said placated. All five of them shifted on their feet as they prepared to jump into the garganta.

"Let's go"! Dominique commanded as she led them into the darkness of the garganta. As soon as they were all in, the portal slammed shut behind them.

"You guys can come out now". Emma said loudly as all of us turned to look at the rock where Ichigo's friends were hiding. For humans with barely any reiatsu, they were shadow shinigami brave for coming here, so I had to give them some credit. They moved from behind the rock slowly. The black haired girl stood above the black haired boy, and the brunette haired boy was on the ground after he tripped when they were coming out of their hiding spot.

"How long did you know we were here"? The brunette haired boy asked with a fearful voice. Urahara was the one to speak up though.

"Since before you'd arrived. I knew you were following Dominique and Ichigo, so I left the store doors opened. Ichigo is foolish to think that a few harsh words could sever your friendships. But now, Shaun and Emma, please keep an eye on our guest. I've got things to do". He said before he shunpoed away to do whatever the hell he had to do.

"Well come on. We got stuff to do too. Follow us". Emma said as we began walking towards the ladder to head up to the upper level. Now it was our turn to prepare this side of the battlefield.

Me: That was a long chapter too and the next one will be garanteed to make you giggle, if not laugh out loud. Nel and crew are coming! Oh and some new additions too. It's gonna be funny, epic, and a good bit embarassing on Dominique's and Ichigo's parts.

Dominiuqe: So cruel... **:'(**

Shiva: Hehe. **XD**

Dominique: Stop laughing at my misery. **:'O**

Me: Is it really misery if you get Ichigo?

Dominique: It is if Nel and Mimie start say-!

Me: Shut it! Don't wanna give away too much of the next chapters again. **:o **

Dominique and Shiva: ...

Me: Until the next chapter people!

Let the Sparks Fly by Thousand Foot Krutch

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	29. Invasion

Me: Wow! I got such heart warming reviews this past month!

Shiva: Thanks guys.

Me: OH MAN! I SWEAR! I've been looking all over for a job, and no one is friggen hireing!

Shiva: Don't forget-.

Me: I know!

Shiva: Well then...?

Me: Okay guys. The thing is that I'm going to start working on a set of strips on Deviantart. They're going to be where you can ask Dominique or even me questions and other random things about this story or any of my other stories and the original manga and anime. It'll be almost like my truth or dare stories except that I'm going to draw them.

Dominique: Yay...more work for me. As if going to war wasn't enough...

Me: Anywho...PM me and ask some questions and I'll try to have the strip up by the end of the month. Oh and happy early Halloween! I'm going to be a neko!

Dominique: Thank goodness we've already been through that.

Shiva: Ditto.

Me:...

Dominique: We are NOT about to do that again!

Me: You had fun didn't you?

Dominique: Well...yes...but-.

Me: Oh well, anyway, I don't have time to work on a Halloween special this year. Maybe I'll do a Christmas one.

Dominique and Shiva: ...(Thinking) _Oh no!_

Me: We own nothing as you already know.

Thank you Kittykat, ElricFan079, Bleachlover107, and as always ultima-owner! Your reviews made me squeel in happiness! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!

**Chapter 29: Invasion**

Luppi's POV

Just as we'd gotten back from the mission, we were told to go get ourselves treated for any injuries that we had obtained in the battle. I had a gut feeling that this would be where Aizen gave Grimmjow back his spot as the sixth espada. I quickly visited Arreniero and made a shadow clone of myself. I made sure to give it even more damage on it's body, while Arreniero gave the clone more ice on it's body to make it look like it'd just come from battle.

Then I sent it out to go to the meeting with Aizen while I stayed with Arreniero, watching everything through the clone's eyes. Even though this diminished quite a chunk of my reiatsu, I had a feeling that it would be worth it. I grabbed one of Arreniero's pillows and laid down on it while he went off to take a nap.

As my clone walked into the throne room, I saw a young girl with orange hair and big boobs, but it wasn't that soul reaper from earlier since she was wearing a school uniform. This girl was the reason we distracted the soul reapers in the World of the Living. She must have some serious powers in order for Aizen to want to get his grubby hands on her.

As the six of us stood in front of Aizen, he looked down with his damned irritating smile at us. I made my clone openly glare, though he of course missenterpreted it as something else.

"Welcome to Las Noches, Orihime Inoue. I'm sorry to rush you, but would you mind showing me that power of yours"? He said as he pushed some of his reiatsu on her. I felt bad for the kid, she looked like she was about to pass out.

"Y-yes...". She said shakily.

"There are a few of us here who aren't convinced of the value of your powers. Isn't that right, Luppi". Of course he would point me out. I made my clone look like he was fuming silently.

"Of course I don't like it. The whole reason of our diversion was to get one stupid girl". The clone sulked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd get so severely injured". At that, I made the clone glare directly at Aizen for the insult.

_'Keep talking you traitor bastard'._ I thought to myself.

"Ahh. Orihime. Could you demonstrate your power by healing Grimmjow's left arm"? And there it was. By healing his arm, he would be able to take back his spot, and knowing Grimmjow, only completely killing me would satisfy him. Hurray for the clone, because peronally, I didn't want to have to blow my cover to keep myself from getting killed. Nor was I about to let myself get killed anyway.

At this time though, I decided I might as well have a last little bit of fun while I was in public.

"That's impossible! Grimmjow's arm was completely destroyed by Director General Tosen! You can't heal something that no longer exist! She's not a god"! As my clone was ranting, she moved to stand beside Grimmjow.

"Sotenkishun. I reject". She said gently as her hair pins glowed and a shield went over where Grimmjow's left arm had been.

"Hey girl! Were you listening! If you're trying to save your pathetic life with some stupid show, then don't even bother! If your trick doesn't work then I'll ... kill ... you ... myself"? I ended in a question to show the shock at seeing Grimmjows arm growing completely back. Her power really was something, almost as fast as a level 100 healing shadow.

_'Impressive'._ Trepadora thought to herself at the sight.

"How! This goes way beyond healing! What did you do girl"! My clone yelled loudly at her, but then Aizen spoke up.

"Good question. Ulquiorra believes it to be some form of temporal or spacial regression".

"Yes sir". Ulquiorra answered like the good little pawn he was.

"No way. How could a human possess such a power. It's impossible". My clone said to itself in shock.

"Indeed. It's neither one of those things. It's a rejection of phenomena".

"A what"?!

"Her powers limit, reject, and deny all phenomena that have affected her subject. She can make it as if the damage never happened. This is far more than temporal or spacial regression. It oversteps devine law set by the gods". As Aizen explianed this to everyone, Grimmjow had been testing the muscles of his newly reformed arm.

"Hey girl. Heal one more thing". He said as he pointed to the scar that blotted out his number on his back. This was it. I made the clone looke angrily at Grimmjow as his number was restored to his body.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Grimmjow". The clone asked darkly. Grimmjow paused for a moment before turning back to face the clone with an insane grin on his face.

"Just this". He said, then he sonidoed in front of the clone. He ran his hand directly through the clone's chest. Even though It was a clone, I felt the shadow of the pain in my real body, and I could tell that he'd hit several vital organs. I made my clone look up at Grimmjow with pure hate in his eyes.

"Grimmjow...you bastard". He gurgled through the blood coming from his mouth. Then Grimmjow lifted his right hand and held it up to my clone's face as he charged a cero.

"Goodbye Mr. Ex-number Six". He said as he released the cero, as he did, any connection with the clone was lost as the top half of the body was completely vaporized. I leaned back against the pillow in Arreniero's palace as I felt the phantom pain vanish as quickly as it came.

"Oooooochiiiiieeeesssss! Grimmkitty just killed me Arreniero"! I whined to him. At first he didn't say anything, which was normal. In their fused state, the ex-soul reaper turned shadow shinigami and inner hollow weren't as talkitive as they normally were. I sighed loudly in boredom. Now I would have to find something to do in secret now that I was "Dead".

Oh well, at least I didn't have to look at Aizen's ugly mug for a while. So really, this whole fiasco was a good thing. Now it was time to chill and wait for any new orders from Rose. Yay for free time.

_'I thinki I'll catch up on some video games for my DS. Mario Kart 7 here I come! Whoo'! _I thought happily to myself.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

We made our way through the chaos realm insided the garganta towards Hueco Mundo. Really this place was a sublevel of the Dangai, instead of the restrictive current and the cleaner though, if you fell off your reiatsu made path, then you would fall forever in the darkness of this realm.

Never living, never dying, falling forever in an infinite chaos of reishi that would keep you alive forever...really this place was even worse than the normal Dangai. I shuddered at the thought of falling into that abyss.

Ichigo was making a path for himself and Chad with his reiatsu, though his path sucked really. You'd think that he'd be able to control it better after all that training. I guess he still doesn't have the finesse for it yet. Uryu was using some technique that made it look like he was surfing, which wasn't a bad idea really, but I prefered my way.

Nami and I were cheating, we had wings...hehe. Not only did this keep us from falling, but we didn't have to waste any reiatsu on making a path. I had summoned only my wings out, so my eyes were the only things besides the wings themselves that showed off any of my hollow-ness. Thankfully, Chad nor Uryu said anything about it.

I was flying directly over Chad and Ichigo, while Nami flew alongside Uryu, asking him about his surf board thingy that he was using.

"Hueco Mundo's just ahead right"? Ichigo called out to me.

"Yes. We're getting close. Just a little further". I said back down to him. Just after he said that, he seemed to trip on something. It turned out that he'd stepped on a weak spot on his little walkway.

"Dammit". He muttered angrily to himself as he got back to running, "Urahara talked about making a path out of reishi as if it were easy. I really suck at this sort of thing though". He complained to himself. I shook my head in silent mirth as he complained. That was when I heard a sharp cracking sound. I looked down to see Chad hanging over the edge of the walkway. I quickly flew down and helped him back up.

"You okay Chad": I asked. He grunted.

"Yeah, I'm good". He said quietly.

"Sorry Chad". Ichigo said as he turned to look at us.

"My, my". Uryu said as he pulled his little reishi surf board up beside Ichigo, gloating openly about his reishi control, "I mean really. Can't you make footing that's any better than that"? He said snobbily. Ichigo instantly had a tic mark on his face.

_'Well this should be pleasant'. _ I thought to myself with a mental sigh.

"Just shut the hell up! I told you I'm not good at things like this didn't I? And I wanna know what that thing is that you have. It looks to me like your cheating"! Ichigo accused him. Actually, he wasn't cheating, though Nami and I were, not that I was about to say anything though.

"This is a variation of the Hirenkyaku. It's nothing really".

"I want you to make me one". Ichigo demanded. Uruy move his left hand to his face and adjusted his glasses with his middle finger.

_'Doesn't he relize that we all know he's flipping us the bird when he does that...or is he just an arrogant idiot'._ I thought to myself with a sweat drop.

"Look, your inablility to control reiatsu means that you wouldn't be able to use this". At that, Ichigo got really mad, and truthfully, it was funny to watch. Nami was lazily flapping her wings beside me as she giggled to herself.

"The way that you're talking, you make it sound like I didn't have any powers at all"! Ichigo yelled.

"Was I wrong"? Uryu asked, "You can't even make your own footing properly". At this, Ichigo balled up his fist.

"Now I'm gonna kill ya"! He said darkly as he went to move towards Uryu. As he stepped on the edge of the walkway, it broke under his foot and he began to fall. I swooped in just in time and steadied him, as well as giving him a Gibb's Slap to the back of the head. Which I just noticed that I've been doing a lot of that lately.

_'Man, what a wierd episode of NCIS this would be if I had a camera'._ I thought to myself as I spoke up to Ichigo.

"Stop being stupid. Now let's get going". I said with a taunt in my voice as I smirked at him. He growled at me, and I couldn't help but giggle at him as I stuck my tongue out at him. That was when Chad spoke up for the first time during this conversation.

"Uryu. I was told you made a deal with your father. Kisuke said that in exchange for your training, you wouldn't get involved with soul reapers or their associates ever again. So why are you here"? Chad said. I didn't really care much, I was a shadow shinigami, so it didn't matter.

"Is that true? Cause I didn't hear anything about it. Talk Uryu". Ichigo demanded.

"Yeah...that was the agreement". Uryu said. I shrugged as Uryu began telling us about how Urahara explained things to him. I managed to get them back into heading towards Hueco Mundo again as he told the story, we really didn't have time to waste here. Plus I really didn't want to hang out here any longer than neccessary. After he was finished telling the story, Ichigo spoke up.

"Oh really, how is it that the Soul Society pulling out of this fight changed the situation"? Ichigo asked.

"Well, you and Dominique aren't actual soul reapers. You're shadow shinigami, as Dominique has pointed out several times before, and with her current err...attire". Uryu said as he looked at my wings with a sweat drop on his face.

"Hey, don't say shit about my hollow-ness, or I'll happily kick your ass through this tunnle all the way back to the World of the Living". I said with a dark smirk, not even bothering to look back at him. He paused for a moment at that.

"...And Nami is a half soul reaper/half bount, so therefore not a full soul reaper either. And since the Soul Society has abandoned you all, you're not one of their associates either". Uryu explained hesitantly. I didn't bother mentioning, that the Soul Society hadn't really abandoned us, but were in fact preparing for battle as we speak. I decided to let him go on thinking as he was.

"That's an illogical argument". Ichigo stated stubbornly. I mentally sighed at his stubborness.

"I'd like to think of it as a loop hole". Uryu explained.

"Whatever, I think you're full of crap anyway". Ichigo argued. That was when I decided to intervene.

"Shut up the both of you. Stop acting like two year olds fighting over a toy. We're on a mission, now focus". I commanded darkly as I flapped my wings harder to send myself soaring on ahead. Nami giggled at my side, bringing my thoughts to her.

I really didn't know if I should have allowd for her to come. After what she'd done with her bankai, she could accidentaly cause damage to herself or even to one of us if we weren't careful. I just hoped that I did the right thing by letting her tag along.

Soon we'd gotten to the end of the tunnle. Then we all broke open the gate and entered Hueco Mundo. As we landed on a white stone floor we instantly looked around for any signs of life. I sent out my senses and found that there were two nearby, low-level arrancars, other than that, we were alone. I quickly pulled my senses back in to conserve energy and changed back to normal; my wings dessintegrating into the air.

"Huh, so this is Hueco Mundo huh? Everything looks pretty solid. I mean, when you consider all of the crazy things that come out of this place, I figured it would look like a dump". Ichigo said, a little bit too loudly.

"Ichigo, keep your voice down. If they don't already know that we're here, we don't need to go around advertising the fact". Uryu whispered urgently to Ichigo.

"This place sure is quiet". Ichigo said with the same volume as before. Uryu began whisper yelling at him, getting louder with each word he said.

"Did you not just hear what I said"!? Ichigo turned back to look at him with a bored look on his face.

"I heard you. You think I'm deaf? You were making more noise than I was". I snickered at that.

"Oh sorry". Uryu appologized.

"Hey, I figured this would go a lot quicker if we let them know we're here. We just grab the first guy that shows up and make him tell us where Orihime is". Ichigo said as if it was a sure-fire plan. Really though it wasn't. Hollows, for the most part, weren't likely to tell us anything, unless we met some of our hidden allies here, which I hoped we would.

There were the spys Rose told me about, and then there were the Vasto Lorde Squads. Only those a above the rank of section leaders were allows to know about the Vasto Lorde Squads. They were a division in Squad 0, yet acted seperately from us. They probably had spies all over this place, at least I hoped they did. All I could do for the moment, was wait and see what happened.

_'If Ichigo doesn't get us killed by acting stupid'._ Shiva said with an irritated growl.

_'Him or Uryu for that matter'._ I agreed.

"Hey! Is anyone here? Come on out"! Ichigo yelled loudly.

_'Yeah, he's gonna get us killed'._ Shiva commented with a mental sweat drop.

_'Idiot'. _

"Ichigo"! Uryu complained.

"Well are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna help me find someone". Ichigo retorted before turning back around to head further down into the stone hallway, "Hello"! He called out.

"He's right". Chad said as he followed Ichigo. I sighed, but began following as well with Nami beside me.

"Not you guys too. Hey wait for me"! Uryu called out as we left him behind. We continued to walk down the hallway though as he ran to catch up.

After we walked for a while, we came to a corner that led into another hallway. Uryu checked around it and said that the coast was clear. Ichigo, who didn't even pause or anything really, went right on around, and continued to yell for anyone to come out, which caused Uryu to get mad at him again. Uryu was complaining about Ichigo not being cautious, yelling of course while he did so.

"Uryu, you need to calm down". Chad said to him.

"Calm down? I'm the calmest one here". He said as he bashed his fist against the wall. What none of us were expecting was that the spot he hit his fist on, was a boobie trap.

_'Awe shit'._ I thought to myself with a sweat drop on my face.

_'Time for some Indiana Jones'?_ Shiva asked.

_'Yep. Looks like it'. _I said. We all looked at him blankly for a moment before hearing a deep rumbling sound coming from further along the hallway. Then I looked down and saw that the floor was collapsing.

"Uhh, we better run guys". I said as I turned tail and ran like hell. The others followed suit.

"Look what you've done! Is that what you call being careful"! Ichigo yelled at Uryu as we ran.

"If you'd kept your mouth shut, we wouldn't be in this mess"! Uryu retorted. I personally didn't see the logic there. He was the idiot who tripped the boobie trap.

"Hey, don't try to blame this one on me"! Ichigo yelled back.

"Just shut up and run! Now is not the time to act stupid"! Nami yelled as she zoomed on ahead.

"Tell him that"! Both Ichigo and Uryu yelled at the same time.

"I'm telling you both this, run or die. That's your choices". I said calmly as I caught up to Nami. At that, they had nothing to say.

"There's another path, should we take it"? Uryu said.

"Anything's better than this". Ichigo said. I quickly turned into the hallway, Nami followed half a second behind me, and Ichigo and Uryu were right behind her. Chad on the other hand, wasn't as quick. The floor gave out under his feet and he began to fall. Uryu rushed to the edge of the pit and grabbed Chad's hand before he could fall all the way, but Uryu was also slipping from Chad's immense size.

"Nami". I said. She nodded and unbinded her wings. She then flew over to where Chad was and helped him back up.

"Thanks guys". Chad said gratefully.

"No problem". Nami answered.

"Geez, what idiots. Who uses old fashion traps like that anyways". Uryu complained loudly. I looked over to him.

"Someone who knew an even bigger idiot would trip it". I said as I glared at him. He stuttered and mumbled an apology under his breath.

"Well as long as we know who's fault it was". Ichigo said with a smug smile.

"Anyway, let's get moving guys. I said seriously. We soon began walking again and were soon in a different type of hallway. This one was perfectly smooth with an uphill slope.

_'Shiva please tell me this isn't what I think it is'._ I whined to my inner hollow.

_'Unfortunately I think it is. All I have to say is crap, and I hope none of those idiot boys trip this trap, or you and Nami for that matter'._ She said with a groan. I mentally agreed.

"This path looks safe enough". Uryu said calmly. Man this boy was stupid. Didn't they show Indiana Jones movies here in Japan or something? I mean, for a supposedly smart dude, he was sure common sense lacking. Of course though, Ichigo spoke up.

"Well that's just fine, but where does it lead to? Where the hell are we going"? Ichigo said to Uryu.

"How should I know"? He retorted.

"We've been walking quite a while. We'll have to run into something sooner or later". Chad commented.

"I'm not so sure about that. We haven't come across a single sign of life. Knowing our luck, this'll end up being a one way road to nowhere". Ichigo said.

"Just don't let your guard down. You never know what'll happen". Uryu cautioned. Ichigo snorted.

"Don't worry about me. I'm ready for anything". Just as he said that, we all heard a thud sound. I looked down and saw that Ichigo had stepped on a trap trigger.

"Shit". I cursed under my breath as I face palmed myself.

"Bummer". Ichgio said.

"It's the same trigger as the last one". As Uryu said this, a rumbling sound filled the hallway. We all looked down it and I sighed.

_'Bakas'. _I thought to myself as Uryu spoke up again.

"Wait a minute. That sound, what the hell is it"? He asked with a sweat drop on his forehead.

"I hope it isn't what I think it is". Ichigo said, a dark smirk on his face.

"Yep". I said as the giant round boulder came around a corner towards us.

"Were screwed". Ichigo said with the same expression on his face.

"How amazing. All the traps the've set are so simplistic". Uryu commented while adjusting his glasses...again.

"I'm glad you find them so impressive". Ichigo said angrily at Uryu.

"I never said I was impressed". I sighed at their bickering. Chad went to step forward, but I beat him to it. Just as the boulder was about to hit us, I charged up a pinpoint cero and fired it at the center of the boulder, causing it to shatter into several billion pieces. The power behind the blast caused a small enough explosion that, thankfully, didn't cause the corridor to collapse.

"And that is how you really deal with an Indiana Jones movie trap". I said as I walked over the rubble, leaving the others in the dust, literaly. I turned back and looked at them just standing there looking at me.

_'Just look at their faces. Priceless. Shame we don't have a camera'. _ Shiva said with a smirk.

_'Kodac moment'._

"You guys coming or what? I'll leave yall, if that's what you want". I said as I waved to them behind me. Then a giant hand appeared in front of me, followed by the masked face of an arrancar. I jumped in surprise.

_'Shit! I was getting on to them about letting their guards down, and just looke at me. That was a rookie's mistake'._ I scolded myself as I leaped back to join the others.

"Who are you"? The masked arrancar asked. Ichigo perked up at seeing it.

"So you finally showed up". Ichigo said as he went to draw Zangetsu. Uryu grabbed the back of his shihakusho and began running away from the arrancar. This time, I had to agree, fighting a guy that size in a place like this was a bad idea.

"This way guys". I said as I skirted around a corner and into another hallway.

"What are we running away for! We've been trying to flush one out and we finally did! We should go back there and beat some answers out of that guy"! Ichigo yelled as Uryu continued to drag him along.

"Are you insane?! What'll we do if we're fighting in a small space like this and the walls collapse around us"? Uryu yelled.

"Who cares if the walls collapse! It's not gonna make any damn difference"!

"You must really work hard to be this dumb"! I cut Uryu off.

"Ichigo, we could be hundreds of feet underground. There are no windows around here, so we can't tell just how deep we are. If the walls collapse and we're too far underground, we're dead. We need a bigger area to fight". I said as we continued running. Soon though, we saw a light coming from up ahead. As we made it past the doorway, we found ourselves in a huge room with a set of stairs on the other side.

"Alright then. You guys don't have any complaints about this place do you"? Ichigo asked as he drew Zangetsu after he got out of Uryu's death grip.

"Let's head for those stairs. They may lead outside". Uryu said as he began running for the staircase. As he was running towards the stairs, an arrancar sonidoed in front of him. He didn't have any legs, and had a bird looking mask on him with spikes on his back.

"Where do you think you're going, intruder"? The arrancar said to Uryu. Then the other one appeared behind us. While this one was small, this other one was huge and had dreds with that looked like tentacles around his goggle looking mask.

"It's another trap. Looks like they've got us sandwiched". Ichigo glared at Uryu with a tic mark on his face.

"Oi, just shut up will ya". Ichigo complained. I looked between the two arrancars. The small one was glaring at us, while the big one seemed to be drooling, as if we were a snack.

_'Yuck'. _

"Hey Dominique. Are these things arrancars too? They look more like hollows than the other ones we've faced. Doesn't matter anyway though. You guys just stand back and watch". Ichigo said as he went to move forward. Only to ge elbowed in the head by Chad, causing him to be thrown back towards the wall.

_'He so should't have said that'._

"What the hell are you doing"!? Ichigo demanded.

"You're the one who needs to just stand back and watch". Chad said seriously as he and Uryu stepped forward. Nami and I stepped back to let them have their fight.

"This time...". Uryu started.

"...we're going to handle it". Chad finished for him. Ichigo looked at them in shock.

"What's with you guys"? Ichigo demanded.

"Take it easy Ichigo. Save your strength for when we find Orihime". Uryu said calmly.

"Don't worry Ichigo, they got this. These arrancars ain't nothing. They're not even worth calling arrancars really. Feel their reiatsu and you'll see that they're pretty weak". I said to Ichigo. Then Uryu spoke up.

"The lower their intellegence, the more they look like hollows". He said with a smirk just before the big arrancar tried to crush him with his hand.

"Uryu"! Chad called out as he tried to assist him, only to have his feet shot at by the smaller arrancar who now had what looked like super thin tentacles coming from his outfit. The tips of them were smoking, signaling that they were what fired those projectiles at Chad.

"That is unforgivable. Demora is one thing, but you're implying that I, Iceringer have low intelligence? Absolutely unforgivable". He said as his four hand looking tentacle things were pointed at Chad.

"Iceringer...shut your face! Stop acting high and mighty and smarter than me"! The big one named Demora said as Uryu tried to attack him, "Gotcha"! He said as he tried to smack him again with his palm. When he did this, I felt a slight distortion in the reishi in the atmosphere. He was focusing the reishi around his palms as he attacked.

Uryu was sent hurtling back and the debres flew everywhere. As this was happening, Chad changed his right arm and attacked Iceringer only for the arrancar to dodge it with sonido.

"What would we want with human forms? We abandoned our human forms long ago so that we could become even more powerful". He said as he sonidoed up behind Chad. He sent four shots at him, though Chad blocked it with his right arm.

"Hngh".

"Don't underestimate me human". Iceringer said darkly. I turned to look back at Uryu and saw him dodge another strike from Demora. Ichigo stood beside me with Zangetsu drawn, his reiatsu aggitated and worried.

"This is crazy! Let me help"! Ichigo yelled.

"Stay right there! Chad and I have got this handled". Uryu said as he jumped up into the air to dodge yet another attack.

_'He won't have this handled if all he ever does is dodge'. _ I thought to myself with a sweat drop. As he was in the air, Demora attacked again, just barely managing to hit him with the tip of his fingers. This caused Uryu to get thrown to the ground and roll away. In truth, it was funny to watch this fight as Uryu continued to roll to dodge more of Demora's attacks.

_'Stop, drop, and roll! Stop, drop, and roll'!_ Shiva sang in my head while laughing. As I was distracted with watching the comedy ruitein, Ichigo shunpoed over in front of Demora and pointed his Zangetsu at him.

"You bastard. I'm the one you have to fight now"! He said as he charged again. I didn't even bother moving to get him as Uryu charged at him and elbowed him in the head, much like Chad had done earlier. After he landed on his ass, he got back up, and glared at Uryu.

"Uryu, what was that for"!? He demanded.

"I told you to stay out of the way"! He said as he dodged yet another attack. Then Chad knocked him in the head again, with his elbow, ... again, forcing him to fly back over towards Nami and I. I snickered as he rolled to a stop right beside me at my little spot by the wall I was leaning on.

"Hello again Ichigo. Have a nice trip"? I asked as I looked down at my boyfriend who was currently in the lawnchair position as he was practically kissing his knees. He glared up at me.

"Shut up". He growled at me before standing up to yell at Chad, "What the hell's with you guys"?!

"Just stay out of the way. Got it"? Chad said as he dodged another set of shots from Iceringer.

"Just listen to them okay. Dang. Sit this one out, and chill for a moment. You'll get your chance to fight soon enough". I said to him as I leaned back against the wall.

"I wouldn't waste time worrying about your friends if I were you". Iceringer told Chad as he continued his barrage of shots at him. Chad turned around and sent an attack at him, only for Iceringer to dodge it again with sonido. Then he reappeared behind him and started shooting at him again.

"Hey Chad, lookout"! Ichigo called out to him.

"Stay back Ichigo". Chad ordered as he ran.

"We'll handle this ourselves". Uryu said as he ran to dodge the palm strikes from Demora. Okay, I mean really. All they were doing was dodging. Personaly I think they just needed to switch opponents because power types and speed types don't do well in combat at all.

"Fine". Ichigo muttered. He, Nami, and I all watched as the four fighters continued going at each other. Then finally Uryu called out to Chad, as he did this, he made the hand motion for switch.

_'Finally. Took them long enough'._ I thought to myself. Iceringer raised his weapon to attack Chad again.

"I'll finish this now"!

"Now"! Uryu called out nearly at the same time. Then they switched sides. Chad jumped away and Uryu stood there with his back turned to Iceringer who had a confused look on his face. Demora came at him of course.

"So you've finally given up, human fool"! He said as he went to attack Uryu.

"Demora wait"! Iceringer called to his commrade as he figured it out, though it was too late, because just as he was about to attack Uryu, Chad's fist met his face, breaking off half of his mask, and sending him flying over Iceringer. He then landed on the ground hard.

"My my. Combatability is always so important. I became so obsorbed in the challenge of fighting the same opponent for so long, that I completely forgot one of the basics". He said as Demora got up off the ground and stumbled around, holding his head in pain.

_'Durr ... it's one of the basics. Rookie mistake'._ Shiva commented.

"You see. I forgot we were fighting two-on-two. If either one of us is having difficulty fighting, we can simply switch opponents for one that's easier to fight. Power against power, and of course, speed against speed". He said as he undid the button of his right sleeve cuff. Then a small five pointed thing on a chain came out of his sleeve cuff.

_'Ahh, the quincy Ziechen. I remember that from history class'._ Shiva said. I mentally sweat dropped.

_'I remember that too, but I also remember you sleeping during that class, so how in the hell do you remember'? _ I asked.

_'Cause I'm awesome like that'._ She said smuggly.

_'You just picked it out of my memories you idiot. You're in the memory lake aren't you'?_ I accused her.

_'...So what? I'm still awesome'._ She mumbled. I mentally sighed and continued to watch the fight.

"Now then". Uryu said as his spirit bow materialized in his hand. It wasn't the same one as he had when we were in the Soul Society. This one was made of pure reishi, like the one he'd used when we first met him, and looked like a spider web instead of a bow really, "Time to step up this battle". He said as he gripped the bow in his hand.

"What the hell is that"? Ichigo asked from his spot beside me, "Uryu, is that a bow"?

"You really have to ask? Interesting. What else would it be? Have you ever known me go into a battle with a weapon other than a bow"? He asked as he readied his first attack. Really, it looked like he was just showing off. And for another matter, I've read that quincies didn't just use bows and arrows. There were some quincies in history that used swords, maces, other projectiles, and there was even one that had a gun shaped spirit weapon.

_'That was over five hundred years ago though'. _

"This is my new weapon. Ginreikojaku". He said as he fired off one shot that surprisingly turned into several spirit arrows coming from one place on the bow. Each arrow aimed directly at Iceringer. I then looked over and saw Demora just as he stumbled right into the wall.

_'Took him long enough'._ Chad then walked up to him as he panted against the wall.

"It's a good thing I didn't destroy your entire mask. Half of your face is bad enough, I'd hate to see the rest". He said as he walked up to him.

"Oooo, burn". I snickered under my breath. Demora glared down at him while gritting his teeth in anger. Then he went to punch Chad, who met it with his own fist, completely stoping it without even trying.

_'Yeah! Fist bump! Get it Chad'!_ Shiva laughed excitedly as Demora continued to try and move Chad with his fist.

"That's all you've got? Too bad, I was hoping you'd be stronger". He said as he grabbed onto Demora's fist. He then took him and threw him onto his back with ease. As the dust filled the air, Iceringer shot out of it and into the open. I saw that he had a wound on his left shoulder from one of Uryu's arrows. Uryu easily caught up to him. As they zoomed through the air, they seemed to talk, but then Iceringer stopped and pointed all of his tentacle thingies as Uryu.

"Even if you can keep up with my sonido, that's not going to change anything. The only weapon you've got is that bow, and there's no way it can defend you against my Una Tirotea"! He said as he began sending shots at Uryu. Uryu also began shooting his own arrows at Iceringer, stopping each of them in the middle of the two.

_'This aught to be good'._

"Oh, do you think you'll be able to shoot down all of my Tirotea? What a childish tactic. You'll have to think of something better than that! Go ahead, give it your best shot quincy, but I think there's something you should know. My Una Tirotea can fire a continuous stream of 108 shots at once. Let's see how long you can stand up against that"! He said confidently.

"Oh I see. 108 shots all at once is very impressive. The only thing is my Ginreikojaku fires slightly more ... like 1,200". I even had to whistle at that. Not bad at all.

"What"!? Iceringer stuttered out just as Uryu's arrows overpowered his Tirotea. He tried to move away, but the arrows all caught him, catching him in a burst of light. The arrancar screamed in pain as he was defeated. I then turned my attention back to Chad's fight to see Demora's head in the wall. I giggled under my breath as he tried to pull himself out.

When he got his head free, he leaned against the wall panting in exhaustion. Chad made his way over to him, and he looked back at Chad darkly.

"Dammit! You'll pay for that! I won't lose to a weakling like you! You hear me! I WON'T LOSE"! He screamed as his purple tongue shot out of his mouth at Chad who lifted up one hand and stopped it in it's tracks. Though, it caused him to be pushed back a bit, the tongue bent on itself several times, making it resemble a bendy straw before collapsing on the ground like a dead worm.

_'Ewwe'. _

"No... He couldn't... No way"! Demora said around his freaky tongue. Chad stepped forward.

"Are you done? Since you waited until now to use that attack, I'm guessing it was your last resort, and now you have nothing left". He said as he began walking towards Demora, "So I think it's time I show you my final attack. I'd rather not. You see, I don't enjoy finishing off an enemy who's lost his will to fight. It just doesn't sit right with me, but in this situation ... I just can't allow myself to feel any pity for your kind". He said as the part of his arm at the shoulder split into three pieces and reishi began flowing out of it.

_'Not bad Chad. Spoken like a true warrior'._ I thought to myself, impressed.

"El Directo". He said in Spanish. Though I didn't know Spanish as well as I knew Japanese, I knew what that meant. As he said this, the energy formed around his hand, and he punched Demora in the stomach. Blood spurted from the arrancar's mouth and his eyes rolled up in the back of his head as he fell to the ground with a huge crash.

"Well that's done! Let's go guys"! I said as I stretched my arms and began walking towards the exit as soon as the huge arrancar finished falling on the ground. I wanted to get a move on already. I looked back and saw Iceringer, who was the only one still alive trying to get back up. I paused to watch and see what he'd try to do.

"Damn you. You cursed humans". He gritted out in pain. He tried to lift one of this Una Tirotea to attack, but Uryu shot the end of the tentacle before he could even fire one of them.

"I already told you arrancar. I'm a quincy. That's why I spared your life. I want you to give Aizen a full report. Go back and tell him that it isn't the soul reapers he should be afraid of. He should fear the quincies"! He said just as the ground began shaking. I looked up and saw that the whole place was coming appart.

"Great. What the hell's going one"? Ichigo said as the five of us gathered together.

"Isn't it obvious. This place is falling appart". Nami offered with a shrugg like it didn't matter.

"That's because those two over there weakened it with all of their fighting. Now the place is collapsing! Now who was it who was going on about how we were underground?! How are we supposed to get out of here"?! Ichigo said while glaring at Uryu.

"You don't". Iceringer said from his spot on the ground. All of us looked at him in surprise, "No one will be leaving now. That's how the room was designed. We are the guardians of this place and our orders are very clear. Anyone who tries to get to Las Noches through this room without permission has to be eliminated. If we fail that mission, the sentence is death, pure and simple. We will all be crushed as the room collapses! This is the type of enemy you face. A war without end. There will be no victory for you". He said with a snarl as he finished his speech. I looked down at the pathetic hollow and shook my head.

"Let's go guys. Leave this fool to die. We got a mission to complete". I said as I began running for the exit stairs. The others quickly followed me without a second look at Iceringer.

"You think you should be feared quincy-"? I interrupted him loudly.

"NOPE! AIZEN WILL FEAR THE SHADOW SHINIGAMI BECAUSE OF OUR AWESOMENESS, AND THAT'S THE END OF THAT! SO SHUT THE HELL UP AND DIE YOU STUPID LOUD MOUTHED ARRANCAR! NOW THE REST OF YOU; GET YOUR REARS INTO GEAR AND LET'S BLOW THIS POPSICLE STAND"! I yelled out loudly as I began making my way up the steps, shooting past the others. They soon followed me, and I felt several sets of eyes burning into my back as we made our way up the stairs. We weren't fast enough though.

We were just about to the surface when the stairway collapsed on us. I took a deep breath of air as sand and rock fell on top of me. As the ground stopped moving, I began to claw my way up through the rubble until I made it to the surface. I looked around as the others came up, all of them spitting out a fountain of sand as they did. I then stood up and started trying to get the stupid sand out of the clothes while the others tried to clear their windpipes of the stuff.

I began shaking like a dog to rid myself of the nasty stuff, but it wasn't really working. I got most of the sand off, but a lot of it still stuck to my skin.

"Ugh! If I wanted sand, I would have gone to the beach for crying out loud"! I said loudly as I ran a pulse of reiatsu over my skin and got the rest of the sand off of me. Ichigo and the others were now trying to rid their bodies of the sand as well. Ichigo actually lifted his right arm up and a fountain of sand came from his sleeve.

"I can't believe we made it out of there"! He said as he opened the front of his shihakusho and even more sand came out of his clothes, "Man I feel gross"! He complained as he tried to rid himself of all the sand.

The five of us then looked around at the permanent night covered desert that was Hueco Mundo. I'd only ever been here twice before, and that was with training exercises with Rose last year. I breathed in the cool night air that was dense with reishi and let out a light sigh. I personally liked this place really, just as long as you didn't run into any rogue vasto lordes.

"So this is Hueco Mundo"? Ichigo said seriously as he looked around, "It seems like a pretty lonely place doesn't it? There's nothing here, it's completely desolate". Then Chad spoke up.

"There are some plants around, but they all seem to be whithered".

"No. They're not plants. They're a special type of quartz crystals that give off reishi into the air. And this place definitely isn't desolate. This place is just so huge that even with all the trillions of hollows here, they're not packed up here. Most of them are off in hiding from the stronger ones like the menos classes". I said seriously.

"Uhnn"! I heard Nami gasp as she fell to her knees. I looked down at her as she clutched her head in pain.

"Nami"! Ichgio said as he bent down beside her protectively.

"Ahh"! She moaned in pain, "Kiesechu... It's here. I feel it ... darkness ... have to ... destroy it". She said as she slumped over. Both Ichigo and myself kept her from falling on her face as her reiatsu spiked. Her captains hiori fluttered around her as her silver colored reiatsu surged to extreme levels, but soon it stilled as she calmed down.

She panted as she leaned against us, sweat running down her face, and her whole body limp. I saw that there were unshed tears in her eyes.

"You okay Nami". I asked her as her breathing returned to normal.

"Yeah. I think so. What did I say"? She asked as her big brown eyes looked up at us questioningly as she began to return to normal.

"You said that the Kiesechu was here and that you had to destroy it". Ichigo told her. She looked up at him in confusion for a moment before nodding.

"I see". She didn't say anything after that, but her face was set into a calm mask that I instantly saw through.

_'Poor girl'._

_'She shouldn't have been put through the shit she's been through'._

"Look guys". Nami said as she looked past us. We all turned around and saw a huge dome that was a freak'n long distance away.

"That must be Las Noches". I said quietly.

"How close is it"? Ichigo said in awe. I lifted up my right hand and pointed it at the palace. I could shoot a pinpoint cero about a mile and a half long. This would tell us at least if it was over a mile away or not. I aimed my fingers and shot the cero at the palace, hoping to hit it. I dissappeared in the air, not hitting anything except for a couple quartz trees. It didn't even come close to hitting the place so we were at least over three miles away, probably more. I sighed in irritation.

"Very far away". I muttered.

"Lets get going then". Ichigo said as he readied himself to start running. I put my hand up though.

"Wait. I've got an idea. It'll be easier, not to mention faster if we fly". I said to everyone. Nami nodded happily at this.

"How are we supposed to fly. I mean, you have those white wings, and Nami has her wings, but what about the rest of us"? Uryu asked. I shook my head with a smirk on my lips.

"That's easy. Watch". I said as I walked a short distance away from the group. I then let my hollow energy engulf me as I changed into my full hollow state. Chad and Uryu looked at me with shocked looks. I mentally smirked as I opened a mind link with them.

_'Any more questions numb-nuts'?_ I asked him as I lowered my muzzle to his face. I saw a bit of fear in his eyes, but it was well hidden. I laid my body down on the ground so they could get on. Nami removed her wing bindings and stretched her light brown wings as she waited for us. Ichigo immediately got on and sat just below where my hollow hole was in the front. His reiatsu was calm and relaxed, showing that he was comfortable and not even mildly upset. He was really beginning to act like a true shadow shinigami now, and it made me so happy.

Uryu and Chad joined him on my back, spaced out evenly so none of them would knock into each other. That and also so it wouldn't look gay...not that it would help any in Uryu's case. His outfit was gay enough as is.

_'Oooo, this is gonna be fun'._ Shiva said, forgetting that I had a mind link going.

"What's going to be fun"? Ichgio asked suspiciously as he heard Shiva. I sweat dropped, but didn't say anything.

"Hey! What do you plan on doing?! And who the hell was that talking?! That wasn't you"! Uryu yelled down at me. I mentally smirked at him as I stood up gently. I leaned forward and the muscles in my legs pulled themselves taunt as I prepared to run. My wings were folded close to my body and parallel with the ground.

_'Just this'._ I said as I took off running across the sand. The sand made it a bit difficult running since my feet would sink a little with each step, but I quickly picked up speed. Ichigo quickly grabbed onto my wing joints to steady himself. Chad gripped my sides with his strength so he wouldn't bounce, but Uryu did bounce up and down as my body bounded across the desert in preperation for takeoff. Then again, I was doing this on purpose.

"I thought we were flying, not bouncing"! Uryu said as he bounced up and down on my back roughly.

_'Hey, you wanna get left behind and run for it, or are you gonna let me handle this'?_ I said to him snarkily as I turned my face to him, making sure to let out a little growl to make my point ,_'I could always toss your ass down. Or would you prefer me to hold you in my jaws like a kitten when we take off'?_ He could do nothing but glare at me as I kicked off from the sand and spread my wings to sent myself soaring up into the air.

_'If you look down to your left, you'll see the beautiful white desert of Hueco Mundo, and if you look to your right, well you'll see the same damn thing. We have an inflight movie if you're iinterested, and if you loose your luggage, your lunch for example, the captain is not responsible for your loss'._ Shiva said after a few minutes of flying in a snobby voice that made me laugh. Ichigo actually laughed as well, but Chad and Uryu were silent; still not used to my hollow talking.

The next few moments were quiet and peacefull, but as you know, this is Hueco Mundo, and that never last too long. I heard a whirring sound heading this way. I looked back and saw a sandstorm heading towards us.

_'And if you look behind us, you'll see a freak'n sandstorm! Hang tight guys'!_ I mentally yelled as I tried to speed up. It was hard though. Though I had a good amount of strength in this form, my wings weren't used to carrying so much weight on me. I called out for Nami to get as far ahead of the storm as she could and I would try to keep up. I wasn't fast enough though as the sandstorm caught up to us. Nami, who was further on ahead flew off to the side and out of the sandstorm's path. I tried to do the same, but didn't make it in time.

The four of us were caught up in the mass of sand and wind. As we were thrown around the others tried to keep ahold of me. I tried to pull my wings in to keep them from being used against me, but the wind was so strong that it kept them fully open. I was twisted around like a doll as the others did their best to hold onto me.

"Is this supposed to be one of their traps"?! Ichigo yelled above the raging wind.

"It's probably one of the natural phenomena here"! Uryu yelled back. I just managed to get a glimpse of him taking something from one of his pockets. Then suddenly everything was calm. I looked back and saw Uryu holding what looked to be a small ball. Ichigo and Chad were still hanging onto me tightly.

"Wait. Is it supposed to be this calm inside a tornado"? Ichigo asked as he looked around. I breathed a sigh of relief.

_'Nah. It's hurricanes that are calm in the center, and anyway, Uryu's got a Reishukaku spirit core. So anyway, where'd you get that Uryu'?_ I asked him.

"I thought we might need it again, so I've had this with me since the last time we needed it".

"So you mean you just took one"! Ichigo accused him.

"Shut up Ichigo. You should be grateful I just saved your ass. You haven't even thanked me, so just zip it and quit complaining". Uryu said snobbily.

"Stop trying to change the subject. Just where did you get this spririt core? Answer the question! Don't tell me you swiped it from Kukaku's place"! Ichigo said as he got in his face. Personally I didn't give a damn, I took this time to change back to normal since the space was kind of cramped.

"You moron! As a matter of fact Kukaku gave one to me"! He yelled.

"Hey, don't get all bent out of shape, I was only kidding". Ichigo said with a smirk on his face. At that the two continued to argue. I growled under my breath in irritation and looked out into the twister that surrounded us. I felt that Nami's reiatsu wasn't near us, so she was at least away from the tornado and safe.

"Uhh, Ichigo"? Chad said as he looked at the barrier around us. That was when I noticed a crack in it.

"What is it Chad"? Ichigo said as he gripped the front of Uryu's shirt.

"This really isn't a good time to be fighting". I said as my body tensed up.

"Oh great! It's cracking! We gotta do something quick"! Ichigo said as he released Uryu.

"Do what!? I haven't used the orb since that time we had to go save Rukia! I guess I should have studied up on it better". He said as he tried to repair the crack in the barrier. I knew he wouldn't be able to so I readied myself for a quick hollofication. I saw Chad was building up the power in his right arm. I knew what he was planning to do. He would blast a hole through the barrier, and the twister at the same time so we could get out of it. The others looked at him like he was crazy.

"Now Chad"! I said to him as he punched the barrier. It shattered instantly. As this happened, I transformed into my full hollow form and kept my wings tight to my body as I grabbed Ichigo and Chad with my front claws, and Uryu with my tail as I sonidoed through the hole in the twister. I shot through the hole and into the open sky of Hueco Mundo, then after a half second of hanging in the air, we began to fall.

I snapped open my wings just like I'd done with Yoruichi in the Soul Society and kept us from smashing into a huge sand dune. Though we did crash somewhat as we landed on the ground. I landed on my chest with Ichigo and Chad still in my front claws and away from the ground. Uryu slipped from my tail and landed just in front of us from the momentum.

_'Oops. Sorry Uryu. Anyway, thank you for flying with Air Shadow Shinigami. Have a nice day'._ I thought through the mental link and plopped my head on the sand tiredly. My freak'n wings ached like hell now. Oww!

"Well I guess we're safe for now. Thanks Dominique, you too Chad". Ichigo said as he tried to get out of my claws. I relaxed my hold and both he and Chad stepped away slightly. Ichigo then sat beside my head and sighed loudly. I didn't even feel like answering so I let out a small groan between my fangs. Then a shadow fell over us.

All four of us looked up and saw all the sand that had been in that twister plummeting down towards us. I quickly moved my wings to cover my face as the sand burried us.

After the sand had stopped coming down, I roared as I forced my way back up to the surface. I shook my whole body as I tried to rid myself of the sand that stuck to me... again. Soon the others had dug their way back out; Ichigo had hid under my wings with me, and Nami joined us with a quick flap of her wings. She was untouched by the sandstorm.

_'Let's go. We still have a lot of ground to cover'._ I said irritibly as I stood up. I shivered my body, the scales that covered me raising up to knock all the sand off of me before lying back completely flat on my body again. They all looked at me before nodding. This time I was serious, and took off quickly as we made our way to Las Noches.

Ichigo's POV

As Dominique flew through the air, I could feel the irritation that had been running through her reiatsu begin to dim down. Personally I could see why, I may not have been the one flying, but it was nice soaring through the air like this. Nami flew beside us as she looked around curiously. What had happened with her earlier had troubled me. Even though she was my older sister, I felt it was my job to protect her until she was fully recovered from whatever had happened to her and got her memories back.

I looked back down at Dominique, and noticed that everyone was silent now. I knew that she was really getting annoyed with how Uryu and I contstantly went at it, but I just hated that he acted all high and mighty. He just pissed me off for some reason.

I watched as Dominique's eyes darted to look at the ground just as several hollows burst from the sand. There was a huge worm looking one, a guy that looked like a mix between a doll and a tiki, and there was one that looked like a cockroach and a person put together. The thing was though, they were all chasing what appeared to be a human child in a green cloak who was crying in fear.

_'What the hell's that'?_ Dominique said as she began diving for the ground instantly.

"It looks like a human"! Uryu said loudly through the wind.

"Let's go! We have to save her"! I yelled as I leaped from Dominique's back. She changed in midair and tackled the big worm looking hollow first with her reiatsu charged fist. I used my Zangetsu to hit the tiki looking one in the face, though I left it sheathed with the hilt cloth. Uryu pointed his bow at the cocroach guy, and Chad also helped pin down the giant worm with Dominique and Nami.

"Stop that! Leave them alone! Stop picking on us will ya?! Why don't you just leave us alone"?! A girl's voice called out. I looked back from where I was holding down the tiki looking hollow with my foot. She said this as she removed her hood. She had green hair, tan eyes, with a pink mark across her face that made her look like she was blushing, and what surprised me was the mask on her head.

"A mask? Then...are you a hollow"? I asked in shock. After that the others let go of the three hollows. They went to stand behind the child arrancar as if they were afraid of us. Dominique stood at my side as they all bowed down in front of us in appology.

"Please leave us alone. We're really sorry". The little hollow girl said before explaining, "We had no idea that our game of eternal tag would lead to such a big misunderstanding. It'll never happen again". She promised

"You mean you play a game called eternal tag"? Uryu asked as he deadpanned.

"There's not a whole lot of things to do for fun here in Hueco Mundo". The child hollow said. I could do nothing but look at her in shock. The way she was running and crying seemed like she was in real danger.

"Eternal tag? But you were crying when you were running away from them". I pointed out.

"Sure! Nel's a masochist, so it's no fun for Nel unless they chase Nel so hard that Nel starts to cry". She said with a big smile on her face. I walked to the closest hollow, which was the tiki looking hollow and punched him on the top of his head.

"What the hell have you been teaching this kid"! I yelled loudly at the hollow. Dominique walked up to her and crouched down in front of her.

"You said your name was Nel right"? She asked with a small smile on her lips. Nel looked up at her happily.

"Yeah! Nel's full name is Nel Tu and I'm an arrancar"! She said with a big smile on her face. Nami was now crouched down beside Dominique with a smile on her face.

"You're just so cute"! She said sweetly. I was a bit shocked at her being an arrancar. She wasn't like any of the others that I'd seen in the world of the living.

"I'm Nel's older brother, Pesche". The cocroach looking hollow named Pesche said. Then the tiki one stepped up.

"And I'm the oldest brother, Dondochakka". Dondachakka said. Then the three of them moved to stand in front of the big worm looking hollow.

"And this big guy behind us is our pet! His name is Bawabawa"! They all said as they pointed proudly to the giant worm.

"Wait, wait, wait. Since when do arrancars have stuff like siblings and pets"? I asked in a confused tone. I'd thought that all hollows ...well normal hollows ... were savage and only wanted to eat human souls.

"What do you mean? Arrancars have always had those"! Nel said smuggly. Dondachakka spoke up.

"We just sort of stumbled into each other and Nel was just so cute that I decided to become a big brother, you see what I'm talking about"? He said in a strange tone

"Same here". Peshe said with what I could only guess was a smirk, but I couldn't see behind his mask.

"Hee hee". Nel giggled sheepishly as the three of them scratched the back of their heads. I sweat dropped.

"That doesn't make you a family". I said. What surprised me though was that they all freaked out.

"Then what are we"?! They all said loudly as they looked at me in shock. I deadpanned and sighed.

"Just forget it. My bad. You're a family". I said as I turned back towards Dominique for some back up. She merely looked at me and giggled. I sighed.

_'Hollows...'. _

_'Hey'._

_'Not you, diot'._

_'Whatever man'._

Dominique's POV

I watched as Ichigo tried to deal with the group off hollows in front of us. I looked at the thing they called Bawabawa and crouched down by Nel.

"Hey. Do you think you could give us a ride to Las Noches on your pet Bawabawa"? I asked her. She smiled up at me.

"Sure"! She said sweetly. I smiled back at her before lifting her up and setting her on my shoulder to piggy back like I did with my brothers when they were younger. She giggled happily from her perch. Soon we were all riding on Bawabawa heading towards Las Noches. I was kind of glad for this. Even though I didn't have a problem with flying, I didn't want to waste anymore of my reiatsu than I abolutely had to.

Ichigo and I were sitting on Bawabawa's head, with the others further back, and Nel was now sitting on Ichigo's lap.

"Hey. Are you guys really arrancars? And how in the hell did you end up in my lap"? Ichigo murmured that last part to himself mostly.

"What are you talking about? Can't you see this beautiful cracked mask"?

"I guess. But you don't look like any of the other arrancars we'd seen in the World of the Living". He said curiously. Nel giggled before jumping off of his lap.

"Of course we are! Those were numeros. They're expert fighters and are under the direct command of the espadas. Nothing like us desert trash"! She said determinedly, yet still had a look that just made her look so cute.

_'Desert trash'?_ Shiva thought with a mental sweat drop.

"Come to think of it, you guys look even less like arrancars than we do. You three are wearing black robes, almost as if you were...". She trailed off as she looked at us with growing fear in her eyes.

_'Looks like she finally realized that we're not from around here'._ I thought to myself.

"What are you guys"? She asked shakily.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, shadow shinigami".

"Nami Kurosaki, bount/soul reaper hybrid".

"Dominique Kudo, shadow shinigami".

"Uryu Ishida, quincy".

"Yasatora Sado, human". The five of us said. The tree hollows all looked at us in complete terror.

"Soul reapers! They're bad guys"! Nel cried out.

_'Yet another hollow that thinks I'm a soul reper. I'm a shadow shinigami, and I'm definitely not a bad guy'._

"I should have known! Arrancars don't want to go to Las Noches! They're gonna kill us". I moved over towards Nel.

"No we're not". I said gently to her. She stopped crying for a second and looked up at me, "We're just here trying to save our friend". I said with a small smile on my face.

"So you're not going to kill us"? She asked as tears dried off her face.

**"The soul reapers may not kill you, but I, Runuganga; Guardian of the White Sand will tear you to pieces".** A huge voice called out as the sand in front of us started bunching together until a huge hollow made of sand was towering over us.

_'Well that's just great. A hollow made of sand. This should be fun'._ I thought glumly to myself.

**"I just recieved word form Las Noches that there were intruders in Hueco Mundo. But I'm surprised to find you desert trash helping them". **

"It's not what you think"! Nel pleaded.

**"Inexcusable. I will turn you all into sand"! **

"Move". I heard Ichigo say. I ducked down and held Nel close to me as Ichigo raised his sword, "Getsugatensho"! He called as he fired his attack directly at the sand hollow's face, splitting it in two.

"Did it work"? I murmurred to myself as I let Nel go.

"Let's go". Ichigo said as he heafted his zanpakuto onto his back.

"A surprise attack! You cheater. He really is a bad guy"! Nel and the other two said loudly.

"How was that a surprise attack? I attacked him from the front".

**"You attack without warning and without remorse. Intruder, that was even more inexcusable".** The sand hollow said as it's split body reformed.

"That's what I was worried about. Shit". I said as I looked up at the giant hollow. He tried to slam his fist down on Bawabawa, but he was just able to dodge around the huge fist.

"We need to get out of here"! Ichigo yelled.

"Turn around Bawabawa"! Nel said as she tried to get the hollow to turn around. As we tried to get away I looked back at the hollow.

**"You will not escape"! **It's mouth began to open and soon it split down it's middle, making it look like an upside down triangle with teeth. Then suddenly we were moving. I looked over Bawabawa's side and saw that we were in an ant-lion pit. We were being sucked into it.

"Does this guy have any weaknesses"?! Ichigo yelled over the roaring of the falling sand.

"It has to be water! But I only know one kido that even uses water, but there's none around to use"! I said as I held onto one of Bawabawa's horns to keep from being pulled into the sand pit.

"Dammit"! Ichigo cussed as he tried to hang on. Then suddenly I felt a drop in tempurature. I saw an ice crystal float by, followed by several more.

"Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren". I heard Rukia's voice and then suddenly Runaganga was frozen solid. The sand stopped moving and Bawabawa managed to get out of the pit. We looked up and saw Rukia and Renji standing on top of a sand dune. They were wearing travel cloaks for some odd reason, and it was just those two alone. The two of them jumped off the sand dune and began walking towards us.

Ichigo ran towards them with a surprised grin on his face after he jumped off of Bawabawa. He'd thought that they had abandoned us, but I knew differently. Nel yelled from beside me.

"Ahh! Soul reapers! More bad guys"! I looked down at her and sighed.

_'Kids'._

"Rukia. Renji. What're you guys doing here"? Ichigo asked as he ran up to them. I saw something flash in the two soul reapers' eyes. Rukia then proceded to punch Ichigo in the jaw, then she tagged out with Renji, and he punched him to the ground.

_'Owwie'._

_'Ouch'._

"You okay Ichigo"? Uryu asked nervously beside Chad. The two of them had walked forward as well, and I half expected them to get hit too. But then something came flying at me and I snatched it out of the air easily. It was a broken piece of a quartz tree. I looked over at Rukia's surprised face, I smiled sweetly and tossed the quartz tree piece behind me before jumping off of Bawabawa.

"I'm sure you're wondering why we went on ahead without you guys". I said seriously as I stood beside Ichigo who was getting up from his place on the ground with a bloody nose. Rukia looked like she was about to yell, but I'd cut her off before she could, "I knew you'd come. Aizen knows that we're here already, but he might not know about you two what with us being the center of attention, so that gives us an advantage. Now then, let's get going". I said as I began walking back to Bawabawa, leaving two very confused soul reapers in my wake.

The others soon joined me and Nel took her spot back in Ichigo's lap. Rukia sat right behind Ichigo and I as we began making our way to Las Noches. I used a low level healing kido to stop Ichigo's nose bleed. Then he turned around after I'd finished to look at Rukia while Nel glared at her from Ichigo's lap.

"By the way, what's with the capes? Was there a sale or something"? Ichigo asked Rukia. She looked away with an embarassed blush on her face.

"We were told to bring them because of the sandstorms here".

"By who"? I asked.

"My brother". She said, embarassed. Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu all looked completely shocked and stared at her with open mouths. Nami giggled, and I laughed out loud.

"Y-you mean Byakuya sent you guys to Hueco Mundo"? Ichigo stuttered out. Renji was the one to speak up.

"It was Kisuke who opened up the garganta. But we wouldn't be here if it wern't for Captain Kuchiki". He said seriously.

"He said, 'I was told to bring you back. Nothing more. I wasn't ordered to stop you from going again. Do as you please'. That was what he said". Rukia quoted. Ichigo had a smug grin on his face.

"Hmm. Byakuya said that huh? The guy sure has mellowed out".

"He also said, 'Let those two punks from squad 0 run around Hueco Mundo and see how they like it'.". She said with a small smirk on her face. Ichigo smashed his fist into Bawabawa's side in anger, causing the worm hollow to cry out. I, on the other hand, broke out into another laughing fit. Then Rukia turned to look at Nel, Dondochakka, and Pesche.

_'Gotta give credit to the guy. He sure had changed'._ I thought appreciatively.

"Who are these guys"? She asked. Nel looked at her in shock.

"Who are we?! Who are you"? She said before getting into a pose," I'm Nel tu"!

"I'm Dondochakka"!

"Pesche Guatiche! We are the-"!

TPThhheeanTtohmGrTreheeiaBet rfDoNeteshleeDrrotsnPeBrothe rs"! Thier words all jumbled together and I couldn't even make out what they were saying. Then they started arguing amungst themselves.

"I thought we'd agreed on Phantom Thief NelDonPe the other day"! Nel said.

"I said I wouldn't accept anything but The Great Desert Brothers". Pesche whined.

"Nuh-uh! It's gotta be The Three Brothers"! Dondochakka complained.

_'How can it be the three brothers when Nel's a little girl'?_ Shiva asked in confusion.

_'I don't know Shiva. Maybe they don't know what the difference between male and female is. They don't seem to be all that bright after all'. _I said with a sweat drop.

"There you go. That's hollows for ya". Ichigo said to Rukia as he pointed at the three strange hollows.

"I don't get it".

"Don't worry. Neither do we". I said as I smirked at the bickering group. Then Bawabawa started making noise.

"Hey! Bawabawa's crying"! Nel said in surprise.

"Don't worry Bawabawa! We haven't forgotten about you"! Pesche said to cheer him up.

"C'mon including Bawabawa! All together now"!

TPTHHHEEANTTOHMGRTREHEEIABET RFDONETESHLEEDRROTSNPEBROTHE RS"! They did the exact same thing they'd done earlier, except much louder. I stepped forward.

"That's enough guys, we get it. Let's just keep moving. I don't like being out here in this desert very much. It's too open". I said seriously.

**"How about I bury you in the sand then? You won't be out in the open then"** Came a familiar voice. The sand in front of us began coming together and soon Runaganga was towering over us again.

_'I should have known. He's made of sand so it should have been obvious that he has multiple bodies'._ I thought to myself. The giant hollow ran his hands into the sand and another ant-lion pit appeared below us. Rukia went to freeze him again, but a blast of sand slammed into her, causing her to fall directly into the center of the pit.

"Rukia"! Ichigo called out as she tried to escape the sand pit. It was no use though, she was sucked in.

"Dammit"! I cussed loudly as we were also being dragged in. Bawabawa still tried though, but we still got sucked into the sand. Just before we were dragged under I held my breath as I was burried alive.

Ichigo's POV

There was sand everywhere. I had to keep my eyes closed to keep the sand out of them as we continued to be dragged further and further into the ground. Then suddenly I was falling through empty space. I opened my eyes and saw what looked like a forest of some sort. Then I looked down and saw that we were falling at least five hundred feet.

A yell ripped it's way out of my throat, but then suddenly I wasn't falling anymore. I looked up and saw the back of my shihakusho trapped between Dominique's fully hollified jaws. Her wings were fully extended as she slowed our descent. She had Bawabawa held with her legs, while Chad and the others were on her back...well Uryu was once again held with her long tail, which made me feel a bit smug. Nami, who was flying beside her, was carrying Nel in her arms.

Dominique did not open a mind link, but I could see that carrying this much weight was a struggle for her. I looked around again and noticed something strange in the distance. For a second, I could have sworn I'd seen at least a dozen menos grande in the distance amung the huge white pillars.

Dominique continued to flap her wings powerfuly as we neared the ground. When we got close enough, she dropped Bawabawa and landed roughly on the ground, though managing not to jostle anyoen. A whine breezed between her fangs as she released my shihakusho. She looked at me seriously for a moment before opening a mind link.

_'THAT FRIGGEN HURT'! _ She mentally yelled. Apparently she hadn't linked with anyone else because no one had looked at her when she said it. She groaned before standing up again. Then her hollow body evaporated away, leaving Dominique standing there with a tired look on her face. She stretched and cracked her neck before walking up to me.

"Where's Rukia"? I said out loud as I looked around and noticed that she wasn't here with us. The others looked around and also noticed this.

"Rukia"! Renji called out loudly. There was no answer.

"She fell into the pit before us and only a short distance away from us so she can't be too far away". Nami said as she looked around.

"Damn. I didn't think we'd end up here". Dominique said as her eyes darted left and right in acute alertness.

"What is this place"? I asked. Just before she could respond anoter voice sounded around us.

"This is the Menos Forest. What is your business here intruders". The person who spoke said as they appeared a few feet from us. The person was wearing a black cloak, with their face completly covered in shadow.

"Who are you"? Dominique demanded as she stepped forward.

"We're the guardian's of this area, and you've just stepped into our territory". The person said as they snapped their fingers. Then three more people appeared around us who were all wearing cloaks, and had high reiatsus coming from them.

We were surrounded.

_'Crap'._

Me: WOW! That was the longest chapter I've ever written! OMYGOSH! I think I out did myself this time.

Shiva: We wants reviews people! We feed off of them and right now we're starving!

Me: Only three people seem to be giving me reviews continuously, but I got four for the last chapter and I'm extremely grateful. And those four reviewers have my imense thanks. I hope to see even more of your fantastic reviews in the future.

Shiva: They makes her all warm and fuzzy inside.

Me: They do. ^u^

Dominique: Until the next chapter.

Freak Like Me by Halestorm

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	30. The Menos Forest and a Lost Friend

Me: I'm so sorry guys. I know I'm way behind but I have several good reasons for that. 1; I'm in training for my new job. 2; I'm working on a comic strip series for Bleach Oc Insanity Time. 3; Way too much family drama that I won't even try to get into. And finally 4; Been working on my six novel series. Again, majorly sorry for the delay, but we're back on track. I hope to have the next chapter up on time, next month on the fifteenth...I hope... I own nothing as you already know. Enjoy the chapter and please don't come after me with pitch forks and torches.

Thanks to Scaehime-KingofKing's Daughter, NamikazeMia, jeanshiro08, ultima-owner, Thunder Claw03, TheTygersSereneChaos, and drmona lord for all your awesome reviews!

**Chapter 30: The Menos Forest and A Lost Friend**

Dominique's POV

The four people that surrounded us all wore cloaks. Three of them were pitch black, but the other one was painted with a ton of colors, slanted like a rainbow. I opened my senses to see who these people were. I was surprised to find one of them to be a full bount, one was a soul eater, and surprisingly there was a half soul as well. Then there was one that confused me. It felt like a zanpakuto spirit.

_'A zanpakuto? Why would there be a manifested zanpakuto here? There isn't a soul reaper here. Maybe it's the half soul's zanpakuto'._ I thought confusedly to myself as I looked at the four potential enemies surronding us.

"You called yourselves the guardians of this area. Who are you exactly though"? I asked as I stepped towards the person who'd spoken earlier.

"I'm Mimie"! The voice came from the one wearing the rainbow cloak. Mimie put back the hood she was wearing and showed us her face. She had long pitch black hair with what seemed like purple highlights in it, and purple eyes. She smiled at me warmly and innocently.

"Mimie! What did I tell you! We don't break formation or give out our names"! The person who I began to think was the leader's voice said in an exasperated tone.

"But Kyle... Can't you feel their reiatsu? Two of them are shadow shinigami. They've got to be from Squad 0, so they're good guys". Mimie said with an innocent look on her face that reminded me of Yachiru. The leader; Kyle, spoke up as she let down her own hood, showing us another young woman with brunette hair and hard gold eyes.

From her reiatsu, I could tell that she was the half soul. Half souls were humans or sometimes even soul reapers who were born with half of their souls missing. They tended to easily lose control of their powers, and were subject to random energy spikes. They also had an ability to fuse with their zanpakuto when they're in combat. In Squad 0, there were all of five half souls that I knew of.

"Might as well let your hoods down guys. Mimie trust these people. That and they're Squad 0 members". Kyle said with a loud sigh.

"So? She doesn't have the best sense of judgment though, if you remember her last trip to the World of the Living". A dark skinned girl with long light purple hair and purple eyes said as she let down her own hood. She was the bount in the group.

"Oh come on Selena. Mimie just wanted to go enjoy Halloween like a normal teenager. She deserves to have some fun every now and again". The zanpakuto spirit said as she let down her own hood. She was also dark skinned, with cropped dark black hair that hung in her face, covering one of her silver eyes. She reminded me of Yoruichi for some odd reason, even though she didn't look anything like her.

"Hey! I remember those two shadow shinigami! I saw them on Halloween! Fudge"! She squealed with her hands clasped behind her in excitement, and I finally recognized her.

"Hey Ichigo. This is the girl that ran up to us when we were walking around on Halloween". I said with a smirk as I remembered her running up to us wearing a Wal-Mart clothing rack that had actual clothes on it.

"Yeah, now I remember". He said with a sweat drop.

"Well since the three of you seem to know each other, I guess we should go through the introductions. I'm Kyle, leader of this little gang". The brunette said with a small smile on her face.

"I'm Ciera Nekomaru". The zanpakuto spirit said happily.

"Mimie Thirteen here"! Mimie said excitedly doing a Nice Guy Pose from Naruto. I could have sworn I even saw her teeth sparkle.

"Selena Mantrioza". The purple haired bount said seriously. As they finished their introductions everyone began to relax and straitened from their battle ready crouches.

"I'm Dominique Kudo, section thirteen leader of Squad 0. These are my friends; Nami, Chad, Uryu, and this is my boyfriend Ichigo Kurosaki". I said as I pointed to each one in the group.

"Wait, Nami"? Kyle said as she stepped forward. She looked at Nami in confusion before her face turned to one of shock.

"Captain Nami"?! Selena said loudly as she looked at her in shock as well. Nami looked at them in confusion.

"What? How do you know who I am"? She asked Kyle who continued to look at her in shock.

"Because you're the captain of Squad 14 of course. Don't you remember us"? She asked.

"We'd thought you might have died. After your brother died and you took up the captain's duties, you'd separated yourself from the rest of the squad while letting Tayuya be in charge. Then it got worse after you disappeared. Now that bitch has the whole squad under her over-manicured thumb". Nami looked at Selena in shock.

"Wait, you knew me and my brother"? Nami asked in a small voice. I felt hope for her, maybe these people could help her with her missing memories.

"Yes. We'd help out in the squad every now and again, even though we're not members. You and your brother were in the same boat as Mimie and I since we're so different than the regular soul reapers and shadow shinigami who made up most of the squad's ranks". Kyle explained.

"If that's true...then you know what the name of my brother was. The truth was, I was attacked by Tayuya and most of my memories are gone now. I only remember bits and pieces of my life. I only just remember Tayuya attacking me from behind and kicking me out of a Senkaimon into the World of the Living". Nami said sadly. Kyle's expression softened as she walked over to Nami. She placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile.

"Your brother's name was Raiden. And as for your missing memories...I know that Tayuya's zanpakuto has the ability to seal people's memories away, but I don't know how to undo the seal". I stepped forward.

"I suggest we kill her. That usually works in most cases". I offered lightly with a dark smile on my face. Then Ichigo spoke up.

"We'll get your memories back Nami". He said as he put his hand on her other shoulder. Nami turned to us and smiled with tears in her eyes.

"Thanks guys. That means so much to me". She said with a small choked sob. Kyle looked between the three of us in confusion.

"How did you join up with these two shadow shinigami"? Nami looked up at Kyle in excitement. All traces of sadness gone from her face.

"It turns out I found my father, and he married this other woman named Masaki. They ended up having three children. So Ichigo's my younger brother and his little sisters are my little sisters! I was rescued by a great man by the name of Kisuke Urahara and offered a place to stay until I recovered. After all this time, I actually have a family again". Kyle looked at her, confusion still on her face.

"But aren't you upset that your father married another woman after your mother died having you and your brother"? She asked. I looked at Nami and saw no sign of anger, but instead sadness again.

"I can understand what happened with my parents. I don't remember the whole story thanks to the memory seal, but I remember that in her journal she left us, she said that he'd helped her escape from the Soul Society when they were killing bounts, but when she got to the World of the Living, she ran. She'd loved him, but she didn't trust him because he was a soul reaper. Even though he helped her escape, she still didn't trust him. A short while later, she found out that she'd become pregnant. Her bount affliction hadn't rendered her barren yet, and allowed her to have children. But her affliction took effect while she was only six months pregnant. Our premature birth killed her, and we were left in the care of a trusted friend of our mother. After that, my memory gets blurry, and then nonexistent at most parts". Nami told her story sadly.

_'She's had a hard life'._ I thought to myself as Ichigo and I looked at her sadly. She'd never explained this before now, but I saw the reason in it. Then Nami smiled as she looked back at Ichigo and me.

"But now I have a new family, and new memories to make. Even if I never get my memories back, I'll be happy with the life I live as long as I get to be with my new family". Then her face darkened and anger replaced her normally happy, carefree expression, "But Tayuya will pay for what she's done. And so will Aizen, and anyone else who's harmed me or my family". She said with rage flashing in her light brown eyes. For just an instant, she looked like she was a very pissed off shadow shinigami, hollow and all.

"What are you guys talking about? What's a bount"? Nel asked. That was the first time I'd noticed her standing right in front of me.

_'She's so short, you just looked right over her'._ Shiva said with a chuckle. Mimie squealed and ran over to Nel. She hugged her and held her to her chest.

"Oooo! You're just so adorable I could just eat you up"! Mimie squealed happily as she held Nel to her chest.

"No! You can't eat her"! Kyle barked at her as if the girl really was going to eat the young arrancar.

"Buuuuuut, Kyyyyyyyyle! She looks so delicious, like chocolate"! She whined loudly. The two groups looked at her in shock, while I looked at her with a sweat drop. Well soul eaters tended to actually eat hollow souls...so...yeah...

"Sorry, she's with us". I said as I stepped forward. Mimie looked at me with her huge innocent eyes as a big smile broke out on her face.

"Oh I'm just picking! I would never eat this little cutie here. I prefer the bigger ones anyway". Everyone sweat dropped at that, "Besides, I've got fudge"! She said happily as she reached behind her and suddenly there was a large piece of chocolate in her right hand.

"Where'd you get that"? Nel asked from beside her.

"My infinite back por-"!

"Mimie"! Kyle snapped at her.

"Oh come on! We all know that in fanfiction you can do anything you want anyway, so it really doesn't matter if I tell them". She said, as if to herself.

"Say what now"? Everyone said at once, including myself in confusion.

"Oh nothing~". She sang as she nibbled on her fudge. I shook my head before speaking up remembering something important.

"Well, one of our group is missing, so Ichigo and I will start searching for her. Nami's in charge of the rest of our group. There's an exit...southeast of here. Start heading that way and we'll meet you there. Try to stay out of trouble guys. That means you Uryu". I said, pointing to the quincy suggestively. He glared at me while adjusting his glasses, once again flipping me off.

_'Why that little...'. _ I mentally snarled.

"Flip me off again Uryu, and that finger will get up close and personal with my Zangetsu". I promised menacingly as I directed Ichigo deeper into the forest. I looked back and saw that Uryu now held his hand behind his back, the glare of his glasses blocking me from seeing his eyes, but I could tell that he was fearful.

_'Damn strait'._ I thought smugly to myself as Ichigo and I ran off into the forest. After a few short minutes of running through the huge forest, I stopped and Ichigo also paused at my side with a curious look on his face. I looked at him seriously, but with a small grin on my face.

I grabbed my zanpakuto from my back and held it in front of me. Ichigo quickly followed suit.

"Bankai".

"Bankai". He repeated. Soon we were standing there in our bankai outfits and ready for a fight. I looked over at him with a smirk on my face.

"You wanna know why we're in bankai right"? I asked at seeing his confused look. After all, there weren't any enemies around us and no immediate danger to prepare for at the moment.

"Well...yeah". Was all he said. I smirked at his slightly clueless tone.

"Watch". I said as I charged my feet with reiatsu. I leaped up into the air and began soaring between the trees. It was like being in Dragonball Z Budoukai 3, my favorite video game from that series.

_'Wow...that was a nerd moment'._ I sweat dropped to myself. Soon I made it back to Ichigo and stopped in midair. The air around my feet continuing to distort from the reishi that I was forcing under my body to keep it in the air.

"Whoa". He said in amazement.

"That's one of the cool things about Hueco Mundo. The reason I know about this place is because I've come here twice during training exercises with Rose last year. We only ever trained in the Menos Forest, so that's why I know my way around here and that we can do this trick. That and it's so much easier to do this in bankai than in shikai". I explained as Ichigo joined me in the air. He was a bit shaky at first but soon he was keeping up with me as we zoomed through the trees, searching for Rukia.

What we came to though was a pack of gillians as they stood around staring into space.

At the sight, I wondered how one of them would taste. I'd only ever fought two menos in my life, and hadn't had the chance to taste one so I motioned to Ichigo to follow me.

"What is it"? He asked. I smirked.

"We're going to hunt". At that a small smile grew on his face as he realized what we were about to do. At least we wouldn't be scaring the rest of the group with our need to hunt. He nodded, a bit wary that we were going after a pack of gillians, but stayed at my side as I summoned my mask. He quickly did the same and I heard a low growl rumble from his chest as his hunger began growing.

That's one thing about the hunger. Even though he didn't really need to feed, once he thought about it and accepted it, the hunger begins taking effect. Or, if you've been doing this for a while, the hunger tends to pop up on its own when you need to feed. I felt a growl rise up in my own throat and smirked behind my mask as we both tackled the menos that was at the farthest edge of the group.

The force of our combined strength brought the huge gillian crashing to the ground. As soon as the dust cleared, the toppled menos began roaring, causing the others to roar as well. The sound irritated me, so I let out a screeching roar of my own, which was combined with Ichigo's own roar as well. The menos stopped roaring and quickly lumbered off. They were stupid, but their instincts knew when a stronger predator was nearby.

The menos below us continued to roar as it tried to stand back up. I snarled and changed into my full hollow form before taking a bite out of the gillian. It's roar turned into a shriek of pain as I tore into it. I just managed to look over at Ichigo in time to see him also tearing into the hollows flesh with his own transforming claws and teeth. The change was much quicker this time, soon he would be able to change into his own hollow form at the rate he was going.

Soon we'd both eaten our fill. I'd changed back to normal and Ichigo's own half changed form reverted back to normal. He was able to come out of the daze even faster this time. After we'd both gotten back to normal, I used my Tensa Zangetsu to stab the gillian in the face, making it disappear easily. The only evidence of the feeding that was left was the splatter of blood on the hard packed sand which would completely disappear within the next hour or so.

"Now, let's get back to finding Rukia and get the hell out of this place". I said calmly. Ichigo nodded and took to the air. The really bad thing about this place was that the huge quartz trees distorted all reiatsu, so you wouldn't be able to track anybody via their reiatsu. You had to rely on sight, and even that was sketchy.

"How can we track her"? Ichigo asked as we both soared through the air.

"Don't know. Never been in a situation like this. The quartz trees distort reiatsu, so that way's no good, then sight and sound aren't very good either, but we don't have much of a choice here do we. All we can do is fly around and hope we see her, while trying not to get seen by any higher level hollows". We didn't need to waste precious energy in fights with non-espada opponents.

I landed on a quartz branch and tried sending out a presquisa anyway, but the reishi distortions from the trees made the mental map a fuzzy blur. But I found something out of the ordinary. It was a huge amount of reiatsu that I'd never felt before. It was so powerful that it actually cut through the distortions from the trees. The reiatsu seemed familiar, I didn't know how, but I'd felt this reiatsu before. My body recognized it even though my mind did not.

_'This is weird'._ I thought to myself as I stood back up and looked at Ichigo.

"What is it"? Ichigo asked curiously as he looked around alertly.

"There's a very strong reiatsu nearby. I feel like we need to go check it out". I said seriously.

"Why? I thought you wanted to stay away from the hollows while we look for Rukia". He said just as seriously.

"I don't know Ichigo. It's like I've felt this reiatsu before, but I can't remember where. I'm going to investigate. Coming"? I asked.

"I don't get much of a choice do I"? He asked with a small smile on his face, so that showed that he wasn't really mad or anything. I smiled back at him and shook my head before taking off into the air towards the familiar reiatsu.

Ichigo's POV

Dominique led the way as she tracked down a strong source of reiatsu. I didn't know why we were doing this, but It seemed to be important to her. Both of us kept a sharp eye out for Rukia as we flew along though. With Rukia being such a lightweight in the size category, she could have flown off miles from where we landed.

That was when the strong reiatsu washed over me like a tidal wave. It felt like I was suddenly underneath a huge wave in the ocean. I looked at Dominique and saw that she was also being affected by the heavy reiatsu.

"We need to land"! Dominique called out to me as she let herself drop towards the ground about a hundred feet below. I quickly followed her and landed on the hard packed sand of the forest. I felt sweat running down my body from the strength of the reiatsu that was strong enough to distort the air. This was something different than any other reiatsu I'd felt before. I couldn't really describe it...except that it felt ancient.

"What the hell's going on here"? I asked Dominique as we continued towards the source of the energy. Dominique was about to walk around one of the larger trees, but suddenly jumped back, grabbing me and hiding behind the tree she'd been about to walk around.

I'd been about to say something, but she held her finger to her lips in a warning before both her and I peeked around the side of the tree to see a huge hollow. While the menos were around a hundred feet tall, this one was about half their size. It looked like a mix between a wolf and a water serpent, that had brilliant green flames running along it's back and around it's ankles. It's skin was a much darker shade of green than the flames that rimmed its mask and traveled down it's back to its long tail. The skin in fact, seemed sickly looking, growing darker green in what looked like vines coming from the center of its chest where its hollow hole was.

Dominique moved closer to it, before letting out a loud gasp. I quickly moved to her side and saw the cause of her gasp. There was someone lying on the ground in front of the huge hollow, passed out.

It was Rukia.

She seemed to be unconscious as she laid near the feet of the huge hollow. Said hollow was looking up towards the roof of the forest, its black and gold eyes blank of any emotion. Dominique leaned closer to me.

"I'm going to grab Rukia and then we're going to get out of here. Be ready for anything". She whispered seriously as she tensed her muscles to spring. She lunged forward towards Rukia, and she almost made it there before she suddenly collapsed. She hit the hard packed sand with a dull thud.

"Dominique"! I yelled out, not caring if the hollow heard me or not as I tried to reach for her. I felt the reiatsu getting stronger the closer I got, but it was nothing I couldn't handle.

Then suddenly my sight blurred and then everything went black.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

When I finally came to, I seemed to be lying face-down in a patch of grass.

_'Wait...grass. There's no grass in Hueco Mundo. Am I in Dominique's inner world'?_ I thought to myself as I moved to a sitting position. I looked around and was met with what looked like one of the pictures from the South American Rain Forest.

_'So not Dominique's inner world'._ Hichigo said with a mental sweat drop. I felt his presence in my mind, but if this was an inner world, then why wasn't he out here with me? I asked him, but he told me that he couldn't come out, that he'd already tried to and failed each time. That was when I looked around to get my bearings.

The air here was humid, and when I looked up, the sky was covered in dark clouds that flashed lighting. The whole feel of this place seemed off, like there was a suffocating presence here that didn't belong. It wasn't just the scenery, or the fact that there were storm clouds in the sky either.

There was just something wrong about this place.

I stood up, not wanting to stay in one spot for too long in case something tried to come after me. As I stood up a bolt of lightning hit a tree that wasn't even two feet away from me, causing me to jump in surprise. I looked around and saw a cave off in the distance. I knew that would be the best place for shelter in a storm like this so I began running towards the cave.

As I did though, even more lightning came at me. Me specifically, because it would always hit close to me and I didn't see it go anywhere else. I ducked and dodge, just managing to evade the lightning by inches. It was so close that several times, I saw parts of my shihakusho burn away from the heat. Which, in the middle of running, I realized that I was no longer in my bankai state, but back in my regular state.

I pushed that thought from my mind, forcing myself to focus on the freaking lightning that was targeting me. Soon though I managed to make it to the mouth of the cave, ducking inside just as a bolt hit the spot I'd been standing on a half second ago. As I stopped moving, the lightning stopped striking. I looked up at the dark sky and sighed.

_'What the hell is this place'? _

Dominique's POV

I had no effing clue where I was except that I was in a freaky field of flowers. This place wasn't my inner world, nor was I in Hueco Mundo anymore. What was freaky about the field was that the flowers were not really flowers at all, but glass and they were all black in color. I learned that the hard way when I first woke up to sharp, broken glass digging into my body.

Thankfully my face had landed in a bare spot where there were no flowers at, otherwise my face would have been hamburger meat. After I stood up, I healed the cut spots on my body with a kido before gathering my bearings. I also noticed that somehow I'd reverted back to my shikai state and felt my zanpakuto on its regular spot on my back.

I didn't know how or when I'd reverted back, but that didn't seem to matter at the moment. I began to hear squishing sounds and they were getting louder.

I looked behind me and saw a massive blob creature thing. It was the same color as the flowers were and what appeared to be its eyes were glowing bright red. At first I didn't move, since it didn't seem to be coming near me, but then it let out a high pitched shriek and charged at me. And for a huge blob creature, it moved fast as hell.

"Oh shit"! I cursed under my breath. I tried to jump in the air to get away from it, but suddenly I was flat on my back on the ground, the broken flowers underneath me digging into me through my shihakusho.

_'What the hell'?_ I thought to myself as I stood back up. I tried to run forward to get away from the monster, but then I found myself in the air...about a hundred feet up to guess.

"Huh"? Was what came out of my mouth as I began to fall back towards the ground. Then I felt something grab me, I looked down and saw what looked like a clear blob hand around my waist. I followed the arm to another blob creature that was see through. Even though it was holding onto me, it had crashed against the black one that had gone to attack me. As if it was trying to protect me.

As it touched the black blob, the black began to grow and moved onto the clear one. The clear one's eyes, which had been a light blue, now turned deep red, and began roaring along with the other one. That was when I noticed that the black stuff was moving up the clear arm towards me. I knew one thing, that stuff was bad news.

I began to work my way out of the grip of the now black blob's grip. It wouldn't let go and the black goo was quickly crawling up the arm towards me. I tried to grab my Zangetsu, but the hand also gripped the sword, pinning it to my body, so I did the only other thing I could think of. I covered my body with a reiatsu barrier and punched the blob's wrist, breaking through the gooey surface, only to have my hand get stuck in the goo.

"Crap"! I swore loudly. I looked down and saw the black goo quickly closing in on me. I raised my reiatsu and sent a strong pulse out through the hand, completely severing the blob's hand from it's arm, letting me fall the rest of the way to the ground. The hand was surprisingly heavy and I had difficulty righting myself before I landed on the glass covered ground.

I watched as the black goo covered the torn spot where I'd blasted through, only for it to reform and turn into huge goo claws that looked like scythes. I quickly raised my reiatsu and blasted the goo hand off of my body. I then looked around for a way out, and saw what appeared to be a cliff.

_'Any where's better than here'._ I thought to myself as I went to run forward, but then I remembered what had happened earlier. Running forward made me go up in the air, and jumping up in the air made me fall to the ground. So that meant that the physics of this place were seriously off. I tried taking a step back and suddenly I found myself about twenty feet from where I'd been, but closer to the cliff. So backwards meant forwards. I took another step backwards, and then I was at the edge of the cliff.

_'Okay, if up is down, back is forwards, and forwards is up, that means I need to take another step back then forwards'._ I thought to myself, trying to figure out this puzzle world. I took another step back and therefore moved past the cliff, but when I tried to jump up, I was thrown to the side.

"What the hell"?! I screamed as I was sent plummeting towards the empty air. I cussed under my breath and tried to regain my footing with shunpo, but that only made things worse by sending me all sorts of different directions. I then curled myself into a ball and suddenly I stopped moving in mid-air.

_'Wow...can't believe that worked'._ Shiva said in my mind. I quickly looked around, only moving my eyes since that didn't seem to trigger anything. I then noticed a pink cloud underneath me, but when I looked up, there was a black cloud above me. I decided to try moving forward, so I gently uncurled myself, and as I did that I began to fall again. I straightened out and took a step forward on the air.

This time it worked and I was sent shooting upward. After a few minutes of flying upward, I came to a cliff edge of what looked like a jungle terrain. I didn't know if going backwards would work again, so I stepped sideways to the right, this sent me forward, but not just forward, forward and my face in the ground.

"Ow". I mumbled against the grass. At least this was grass and not glass. I slowly sat up and heard the sound of thunder crashing in the distance. I looked up and saw the black clouds in the sky, with lightning flashing in zigzagging arcs through the air. I took a step forward, and surprisingly I actually went forward. I sighed in relief that the crazy physics had ended, if only for the moment, or maybe it was just that forward actually meant forward here.

But as I moved forward a bolt of lightning struck the ground not two feet from me. The heat from it was painful, and the sonic boom shook my whole body, down to the bones. I felt my ears pop and groaned at the pain as I stopped moving. I expected another bolt of lightning to come at me, but none did. I then took a step forward and another bolt came at me. I quickly leaped forward and dodged the strike by inches.

_'Is it attracted to movement'?_ I thought to myself. It made about as much sense as the rest of this place so I figured that it did. I then began to think of a way to block the lightning.

_'What about using Byakurai? Just like how Pikachu blocked the movie in Pokemon 2000'._ Shiva said seriously. I mentally sweat dropped at first. I was still a bit of a pokemon nerd. I even had the newest games, even though I hadn't played them in a while. I'd beaten them within a week of getting them. Yay for cheat codes.

_'Not Byakurai. I'd use up too much energy just shooting off too many of those. I need Tsuzuri Raiden. But I'll fuse it with a Hainawa to make an electric whip'. _I spoke mentally as I pointed out my forefinger and my middle finger of my right hand. I would need to do this just right.

"Bakudo number four, Hainawa". I spoke as the long gold rope extended from my fingertips. It was about ten feet long. "Hado number eleven, Tsuzuri Raiden". I said as the electricity traveled down the whip, crackling the air around it. I kept my reiatsu going as I began to run.

The lightning came at me again, but this time I struck at it with the lightning whip. The whip connected with the bolt and caused it to shoot away from me. It surprised the heck out of me, but I kept running. There wasn't any time to sit there and figure out the physics of this world.

_'Still can't believe that worked though. Thank you Pokemon'!_ I thought happily to myself as I ran through the dense forest. And that was when I noticed there was another person's energy here. I couldn't tell who it was, but I knew that there was someone else here. I followed the reiatsu to a cave at the base of a mountain.

I continued to redirect the lightning as I followed the stranger's reiatsu. When I got to the mouth of the cave I leaped inside and saw the lightning hit a spot at the entrance, but didn't follow me in. I quickly disbanded the kidos and relaxed.

I walked into the cave and saw what looked like an orange flame towards the back of the cave. Only it wasn't a flame, it was a head of orange hair.

"Ichigo"! I said happily as I ran towards him. He looked up at me in surprise before jumping up and rushing towards me as well. He quickly crushed me to his chest and we both let out a sigh of relief at seeing each other safe. The moment was short lived as we both grew serious. Ichigo was the first to speak.

"Do you have any idea where we're at"? I shook my head

"I think we're inside the inner world of that hollow we saw earlier. I'm not completely sure though since I'd never heard of such a thing. I do know that we need to get out of here cause when I woke up, these blob creatures attacked me. It's only a matter of time before something else comes after us I bet". As soon as I said that we both heard a loud crash from further in the cave.

"Grooooowwwwwwhhhhhhhh". The noise sounded after the crash. I looked past Ichigo and noticed a small light towards the back of the cave. The light grew quickly and I soon found out that it was a bright purple wolf. It wasn't just the color that was odd, but the fact that it's whole body seemed to move, and that's when I realized it. The wolf was made up of the purple lightning that was shooting outside.

"Awwe man". I groaned. Ichigo quickly looked back and saw the wolf as well.

"What the hell is that"? Ichigo asked to no one in particular.

"Trouble. Get ready to run. We need to get out of here and to a different area. Come on, let's go"! I said as I ran for the entrance. Ichigo was hot on my tail and I pointed both of my arms out to the side.

"What are you doing"? Ichigo called to me as we ran from the lightning wolf.

"Bakudo number four Hainawa, Hado number 11 Tsuzuri Raiden"! I called out as I rematerialized an electric whip for each hand.

_'Incoming'!_ Shiva yelled as a wolf leaped at me from the cave's entrance.

"Duck"! I yelled at Ichigo as I slid into a crouch and lashed one of the electric whips at the lightning wolf in front of us. I looked back just in time to see that Ichigo had also lowered himself to the ground as I twisted the lightning wolf around to send it flying at the one coming at us from the back of the cave. They collided together with a loud crack that sounded like thunder.

After the flash disappeared neither of the wolves remained. They'd canceled each other out.

_'Well that was convenient'._ Shiva commented. I rolled my eyes as Ichigo and I straitened back out of our crouches and ran to the mouth of the cave. We stopped at the entrance and froze.

'Well crap". I muttered in irritation.

"Damn". Ichigo said as we both looked around and saw at least a hundred of the lightning wolves facing the cave. They were everywhere, completely surrounding us.

"Ichigo. I'm going to create a distraction so you can run. You keep running until you get to a cliff. Jump from the cliff and then from there you'll have to deal with the unpredictable gravity and movements. Don't enter the field covered in black flowers, try to find another place that'll hopefully be safer until we can find a way out of this freaky world". I told him as I readied my electric whips.

"What about you"? He asked as he shifted into a crouch.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about me. I can handle this". I said as I charged forward, not giving him any time to object. I quickly wrapped the whip around one wolf's neck and tossed it at another one of the wolves. I turned back long enough to see that Ichigo hadn't moved yet. I turned back to the wolves as they charged at me now. I quickly wrapped the whips around any wolf that got within my range before tossing it into another.

"Run you idiot! I at least have some protection, but you're a freak'n sitt'n duck"! I yelled as I just barely dodged a wolf as it tried to chomp down on my head. Thank you Emma and your special training with the pack.

I twisted around and grabbed the wolf that had just tried to chomp me before sending it flying into several other wolves. I then released one of the electric whips as I rushed at Ichigo who had only just begun to move. I grabbed the collar of his shihakusho and tossed him into the air, far above the wolves and towards the cliff. I then reactivated the electric whip on the hand that I'd just used and began to attack the wolves again.

Only about half of them came after me though, the rest of them went after Ichigo as he landed and began to run towards the cliff while dodging the lightning that came after him. I quickly began running after him, dodging and twisting to get rid as many of the lightning wolves as I could as well as using a whip to send the lightning away as well.

Soon Ichigo made it to the cliff, with me right behind him. He stopped at the cliff's edge, but I didn't. I continued to run, and just as I got within jumping distance of him, I released the whips and tackled him head on, sending us flying off the cliff and into the empty space beyond.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Kyle's POV

Everyone was pretty quiet as we made our way to the entrance, which that girl, Dominique, was right about its location. Then again, she said that she was a section leader in Squad 0, so that means that she'd have trained here at least once if not already been stationed here.

I also couldn't help but notice how much Captain Nami had changed since I'd last seen her. She was no longer the heartbroken woman I'd met a few years ago. She'd lost her brother at the age of sixteen, and was the only bount/soul reaper hybrid in Squad 14. I don't know the exact details of what happened cause it's classified, but I do know that her brother was killed because he knew the whereabouts of the Kiseichu. Unfortunately Aizen found the Kiseichu and even awakened the damn thing.

Now everything and everyone was in danger.

The Kisechu is an ancient hollow, in fact, the oldest and most powerful hollow in existence. In its sealed state, which was done by the Guardian over 10,000 years ago during the War of Darkness, the Kisechu is nothing more than a small pod with three horns sticking out of it, or so legend says. I'd never seen it before, and personality didn't want to.

No one knew what it looked like in the awakened state. But we'd probably find out soon. I was jolted from my thoughts by the sound of several hollows.

"Rooooaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr"! The sound came from all around us. I looked around and saw at least seventy menos, and hundreds of other hollows surrounding us. Drawn by the high concentration of reiatsu. I cussed and drew my sword from the sheath at my right hip. I tossed the cloak to the side, deciding that I wouldn't need it anymore anyway since we would now begin attacking Las Noches openly now.

I quickly held my blade in front of me as I watched the others in our group begin to get ready for battle. All except for the three hollows and little arrancar who were hiding in the middle of the group fearfully. I smirked as I called my blade's shikai.

"Feast upon their souls, Shitenshi (Death Angel)". I called calmly as the katana turned into a long pitch black staff with two scythes that were also pitch black on each end of it, and my reiatsu formed into two pitch black feathered wings on my back.

"Soar through the skies, Orora Tenshi". Nami said as her blade turned into her huge axe. I also noticed that it looked damaged. There were cracks and broken spots all over it. Something was seriously wrong with her zanpakuto. I put that question for a later moment though as I charged forward and began taking down the hollows.

I watched as the fullbringer and the quincy took down several menos and adhudjas on their own. Of course Mimie, Ciera, and Selena were having no trouble with the menos classed hollows. The pineapple haired soul reaper also took down his fair share of hollows with the his zanpakuto Zabimaru. Nami on the other hand, surprised me with the fact that she was fighting just as openly and as enthusiastically as I'd seen full-fledged shadow shinigami do.

I'd only ever had the chance of watching her fight once before, and it was so different than what she was acting like now. She'd been timid before, disliking violence of any kind, especially after Raiden had been killed. Whatever had been broken in her, seemed to be in the process of healing, and in fact becoming even stronger than before.

Soon all of the hollows had either been taken out, or ran with their tails between their legs. I let out a small silent sigh of relief. Neither Mimie nor I changed into our darker forms during this fight. Didn't want to scare our new traveling companions, nor risk their lives either.

"Let's keep moving, otherwise we'll just get ambushed again by an even larger amount of hollows, and I wouldn't put it past them to bring a vasto lorde or two the next time they come back". I said seriously as I sheathed my Shitenshi. The others nodded and Nami and I began leading the pack.

My group knew this area like the back of our hands and knew exactly where the entrance was. I felt a disturbing presence suddenly fill the air, it was so strong, as if it was suffocating me. I looked at the others and saw that they were the same way.

Selena, the quincy, and the fullbringer had all been brought down to their knees as well as the hollows. The little arrancar girl looked like she was about to pass out while the rest of us struggled to remain standing. That was when I felt it...

_'Uh-oh'._ I thought to myself as I also began to feel sleepy. The strange reiatsu was going to pull **her** out. I looked over at Selena, Mimie, and Ciera and motioned for them to get everyone back and to follow the procedure. They knew the drill well enough by now. With Mimie's inner darkness always popping out at the most inconvenient of times and my personality switches, they knew how to deal with both of us. At least right now they didn't have two of us to deal with at the same time. I felt my other personality begin to take over.

Black Kyle.

I felt myself slip under as she took over.

Nami's POV

The strange reiatsu was suffocating. It felt like I'd been submerged under water from the weight and intensity of it. For some reason though, it didn't feel threatening even though it felt like a hollow's reiatsu.

But that was when another, much more sinister reiatsu appeared. I looked over and saw that Kyle had bent her head forward as if she was sleeping on her feet. Her reiatsu earlier hadn't been like this, but something about this seemed familiar, meaning that it was one of my sealed memories. Mimie came up to me with a strangely serious face.

"It's best if we get back". She said with a serious voice. I looked at her in confusion.

"Why? What's wrong with Kyle"? I asked. Ciera came up to me and spoke up while Selena motioned for the others to move back.

"Kyle has a little thing known as MPD, multiple personality disorder. The Kyle you know is known as White Kyle, but now Black Kyle's come out thanks to that heavy reiatsu". I nodded but was still confused.

"What's the difference between Black Kyle and White Kyle"? I asked as we backed up about ten feet from Kyle as her reiatsu began to level out. Mimie spoke quickly.

"White Kyle's like our big sis. She'll kick your ass only if you do something inappropriate, but otherwise is really nice. Black Kyle on the other hand, is very quiet unless she's taunting an enemy, and she has no problem killing anything, innocent people or not. Black Kyle will kill you just for looking at her wrong". Mimie explained. I gulped and nodded, now understanding the situation.

"How long does she stay Black Kyle"? I asked. They both shrugged.

"It depends. Sometimes it can be for a few minutes, or up to several days. And the only way to get Black Kyle to calm down from a rampage is to get her to play with her kittens Tubasaneko and Yukineko". Ciera said seriously.

Just then Kyle turned to look at us. Her cool gold eyes had turned icy and menacing, even though her expression was unreadable. She looked at us and smirked evilly. She walked towards me and looked me right in the eye. I stood my ground and kept my own face expressionless.

"Well, well, well. Look who showed up. The scaredy cat captain of Squad 14. I thought you were dead". She smirked as she began circling me slowly, like a shark. I frowned slightly, but otherwise not showing any other emotion on my face.

"I'm not a scaredy cat, and as you can see I'm clearly not dead". I said calmly. She snickered darkly.

"Oh right, the captain who hated fighting more than anyone else in the whole Soul Society. After your brother was murdered you practically went comatose, then you let that bitch Tayuya get one up on you". She sneered. I glared at her. I felt my pride welling up in my chest, wanting to challenge her to prove that I could fight just as well as anyone else.

"I'm not scared, I'm not comatose, and I'll show you just how well I can fight, and the fact that the next time I see Tayuya, I'll kill her". I said as I unsheathed my blade, causing a gasp from the rest of the group. Kyle stopped her circling to stand in front of me. She smirked as she drew her own blade.

"Excellent. I've always wanted to kick your ass". She said as she lowered into a crouch. I also got into a battle ready stance. I held my Orora Tenshi in my hand loosely as I felt the energy around me already beginning to flow into me and my blade.

"Soar through the skies Orora Tenshi". I called calmly. The blade changed into the large axe that seemed too big, yet was perfect for me. My Stealth Force flats dug into the hard packed sand as I tensed my muscles. Kyle then called her blade.

"Feast upon her soul Shitenshi". Her blade turned into a long black staff before a pair of pitch black scythes erupted from both ends of the staff. The blades gleamed the same way as Ichigo's and Dominique's Tensa Zangetsus did. I just hoped that this didn't end up becoming a fight in bankai. I knew that Dominique was worried that if I had to use my bankai that I would lose control again and end up hurting the wrong people.

_'No matter what happens, do not preform bankai'._ I silently told myself.

"Well then, let's get this party started". She said before she charged at me.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Ichigo's POV

As we flew through the air, Dominique held onto my waist as we fell into a large black cloud. When we passed through it we saw what looked like a mountain that had thousands of holes in it. She looked at me seriously as she kept her body stiff.

"Don't move Ichigo. If you move at all while we're in this place, you'll move in a different direction than the one you're trying to move in. I don't know what to expect when we land on that place, but let's hope it's better than the two I've already been to". She said over the sound of wind rushing past us. As we approached the mountain we began to speed up. I looked over to Dominique and saw that she was trying to think of what to do.

I didn't dare move since she'd already been here and apparently she was really wary of this place. We were coming up fast to the ground. Fifty feet...twenty five...ten...and that was when Dominique twisted us out of our free fall position only to have us twisted off to the side, past the mountain and further into the empty space.

_'Wow. That was weird. Us just moving that little bit caused us to be thrown that far'._ I thought to myself as we continued to fall. It had thrown us far enough away from the mountain to make us keep falling past it towards another set of black clouds below us. I looked back over at Dominique.

"Dammit. Guess we'll just have to try for the next one". She grumbled irritably as we stayed standing as we fell. We passed the large cliff that ended the mountain terrain and fell through another black cloud. When we passed through that we were met with a valley that was completely brown with what seemed like a grove of trees in the center that were all dead looking too. We kept ourselves still as we fell towards the ground of the valley.

That was when my whole body went numb for a second. I felt Dominique's hand slip from mine. I suddenly felt exhausted and had the strongest desire to take a nap. Then I was jolted back to reality when we landed on the ground. It felt harder than it should have and my body jolted more, almost to the point of pain as my knees gave out and I pitched forward, only just able to catch myself from falling on my face with my hands.

_'What'?_ I thought to myself as I looked at my hands. My now small hands.

_'Dude! WTF just happened'?!_ Hichigo was yelling inside my head. I also noticed that his voice sounded strange...well stranger than normal. I stood up, thankful that when I did I wasn't thrown in some random direction as I looked at my now much smaller hands. That was when I also noticed that the world around me seemed a whole lot bigger than before. I quickly looked around to find Dominique and was met with a small girl with shoulder length brunette hair and large dark blue eyes.

"Dominique"? I called in confusion. I noticed that my voice was strangely high pitched, but wasn't metallic like when I was hollified. The child turned to look at me and her eyes widened even more in shock.

"Ichigo! You look like a little kid"! She said with a high pitched tinkling voice. Then she eeped in shock as she looked down at herself before yelling loudly, "WTF! I'm a little kid?! She said as she started touching her arms and head to try to see if it was real or not. While she was doing this I looked down and saw that my own body had become that of when I was seven years old. Dominique looked to be around the same age.

Surprisingly enough we were still wearing our shihakushos and our Zangetsus. It was seriously freaky, but what was strange was that I wasn't freaked out too bad about this, unlike Dominique who was still trying to make sure if this was real. I looked over at where Dominique had plopped down onto the dead grass and was glaring at the ground.

I had to admit it, she looked adorable doing that. Now if she were doing that in her normal form, she'd look terrifying, like a pissed off dragon, but now she just looked like a kid who was throwing a temper tantrum.

"This is seriously fucked up". She said with her child voice and I couldn't help but chuckle. She didn't sound right cussing like that. Her voice was even more high pitched than Yuzu's was at that age. Though I probably don't sound much better off either.

"You don't sound right cussing with that voice". I smirked at her. She glared at me, but it lost most of its sting since she was so cute. Her eyes still changed from blue to a greenish blue in her irritation though.

"Well you don't look right with that scowl on that chibified face of yours". She snapped. I looked at her darkly for a moment and she glared right back before we both busted out into a fit of laughter.

We were both laughing so hard that by the time we both calmed down we were both gasping for air. That was when Dominique stood back up to walk over to me. Her steps were a bit wobbly and off center, making her seem even more like a child. It was also strange seeing her with shorter hair. Her hair seemed to spike up in some places while the rest of it fell to rest just above her shoulders, and her four usual bang that framed her face were replaced with spikes similar to my own. I wondered how I looked to her.

I noticed that I had to look up at her, even though she was younger than I was. And by the look of that smirk on her face she just noticed that as well. She reached up and patted my head gently. I growled at her.

"You look so adorable! And I'm taller than you now"! She giggled cutely. I couldn't help it but I laughed along with her. But when we stopped laughing we got serious.

"I just hope that this isn't permanent. I don't want to go through puberty again thank you". I said with a groan. She huffed in agreement.

"Hopefully we'll change back when we leave-". She stopped mid-sentence as we both heard a loud rumbling sound. We both quickly grabbed our blades, which had also changed to match our bodies, to get ready for whatever may come at us.

The ground split open to give way to what looked like huge stick-like monsters made of what looked like burnt wood. They somehow managed to glare at us with glowing red eyes resting above huge splintering mouths that opened to roar at us.

"Shit". I cussed. Dominique stood at my side as she turned to look at the monsters that were coming out of the ground like weeds. I felt Dominique's reiatsu pulsing in the same way that it does when she's about to shoot off a Getsugatensho so I quickly charged one up myself.

"GETSUGATENSHO"! We both yelled as we attacked the stick monsters.

That didn't work out too well though. The attacks, which were usually thirty feet or so wide were now about a fourth of that. Which, in comparison to the stick monsters, was tiny. It hadn't been just our bodies that had been chibified, but our powers too.

"Shit". Dominique was the one to cuss this time as she looked at me, "Uhh, me thinks it's time to run ... Like now"! She said as she turned tail and ran. I quickly did the same. My legs pushing me forward, clumsily, but at least I wasn't falling on my face.

That was when I noticed the rumbling sound getting louder. I looked around to see that more of the monsters were coming out of the ground and were coming at us, but Dominique and I kept running towards the grove of trees that seemed to be glowing somehow. The closer we got, the more monsters that appeared from the ground, but the trees of the grove seemed to be just trees since they didn't move or try to come at us.

When we finally got to the trees we saw that they were so packed together that it looked impossible to get inside the grove. That didn't stop Dominique nor I though. Both of us put our zanpakutos on our backs and latched onto the bark of the trees to start climbing to the top of them. I was surprised for an instant that Dominique didn't hollify to fly over the trees, but when I tried to summon my own mask, I found that I couldn't.

_'Well that explains it'._ I thought to myself as I managed to make it to a branch to grab onto. After that I began leaping from branch to branch. At least this world didn't diminish all of my abilities so I could at least jump high enough to get to the higher branches, which were about ten to twenty feet in distance from each other. Even if this body wasn't fit for fighting, we could at least get away.

I then noticed that Dominique wasn't even really trying as she shot up the tree past me. Her short arms shot out and her small hands latched onto the smallest grooves and notches for her to pull herself up, even though I could now see that she was sweating with exertion, her body in the same predicament as mine even though she was moving much more quickly than I was.

Then again her inner world is a forest, so it wasn't really a surprise that she knew her way around a tree. Even though she was acting more like a ninja from Naruto with the way she was flying up the branches rather than a shadow shinigami right now. I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't seen the stick monster that was about to grab my ankle. But then it roared and I jumped in shock as I looked down to practically see the monster's red eyes glowing right below me.

I yelled in surprise as I shot up the tree even faster than Dominique, passing her and leaving her in my dust.

Dominiuqe's POV

I was left blinking in confusion as Ichigo shot past me up the tree. I hadn't thought he could move that fast. This stupid younger body of mine wasn't strong enough to fly up the tree like I should have been able to normally. I looked down and saw just why he put the pedal to the medal.

The stick monsters were right on our tail!

"EEP"! I squeaked as I shot up the tree even faster now. These trees were even taller than my own in my inner world, making mine seem like saplings. I managed to catch up with Ichigo at the top of the tree that we'd been climbing. He had an adorable blush on his face that made me want to just hug him and ruffle his hair like I do my little brothers when they would do something particularly cute.

I smirked at him as he looked down at the monsters with a glare on his face. I giggled but then turned to look at the monsters myself. They were still coming after us, and with our zanpakuto attacks chibified, and most likely my kidos too. There was only one option left.

"Stand back Ichigo. You don't wanna get caught in the middle of this". I said as I moved to one of the outer branches. It was bare of any leaves like most of the others and felt brittle under my feet, but it would serve my purpose for it. I looked down as the monsters continued to climb their way up to Ichigo and I. I then took a look at the various shadows around my feet.

They were long and dark enough to be pretty strong if I can use them. I hadn't been able to use my hollification here so far, and bankai had also been inaccessible, but kido and hopefully my shadow casting would be available. I felt Ichigo's gaze on my back as I raised both my arms out in front of me, placing my own shadow on the shadows of the branches from above and below me.

I closed my eyes in concentration and focused my reiatsu into the shadows of my body before using them to stretch into the trees' shadows and molding them to my will. I moved my fingers and felt the thin shadows of the branches below me twitch. It was like they were puppets and I had the strings. I smiled, thankful that at least this worked.

Normally I would be able to use just my own shadow to attack these things with, but in my child state I couldn't use my powers like I normally could. I could already feel the fatigue of the shadow casting already taking a hold of me, even though I hadn't even done anything yet. I opened my eyes and looked down at the approaching tree monsters.

"Shadow Strike 10: Stitching Needles"! I called as the shadows below me flew forward at my command. They shot down the bark of the trees below me and rose up to stab directly into the chest of around twenty monsters before moving onto another twenty. By the time I'd stitched them all there were about 150 or so of them skewered on the shadows.

"Wow". I heard Ichigo's voice come from behind me. I then raised my arms up before swinging them downwards harshly, causing the shadows to throw the monsters to the ground with a thunderous crash. I was just able to see that they were torn apart on the ground. It didn't stop them though.

They continued to twitch and roar as they continued to try to get at us. I growled in irritation, but I raised both my hands in the air above my head, clasping them together.

"Shadow Strike 15: Heavy Slam"! I roared as the needle-like shadows below me compounded together to form a giant hand that rested on the mangled bodies of the tree monsters. I then swung my fist down and the shadow that was resting on the monsters smashed them into the ground, causing a huge hand shaped crater in the ground below the trees.

All that was left of the monsters was a pile of smushed wood that looked almost like that homemade paper that I'd tried to make in kindergarten. I smirked as I released the control on the shadows. My own shadows returned to their normal size and shape as I let my arms fall at my sides. I then turned back to look at Ichigo. He was looking down at what was left of the monsters below us with amazement.

"Damn". He said with amusement in his voice. I smiled at him as I walked past him to begin checking out what was on the other side of these trees. Ichigo quickly got up to follow me and I felt my whole body turn to jelly as the exhaustion over took me. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as the world went dark around me.

Ichigo's POV

I'd been amazed at what Dominique had been able to do with just her shadow. I'd seen her use it a little before, but nothing of this extent. She'd used her shadow to shish kebab the wood monsters before totally flattening them with the same shadow.

Even with her child-like appearance, she was still the girl that I'd fallen in love with. The girl who could make a room full of people laugh with a single joke and who could instill terror in anyone with a single pissed off glare.

She'd walked past me to check out the area we were now in when her body collapsed. I ran forward just in time to catch her from falling through the branches to her death, just barely though. I clung to the large branch below me as I held onto her obi sash as her body dangled limply from my grip. I could tell from her reiatsu that she'd used up too much too quickly again.

The problem was probably that she'd normally would have been able to do those two moves with no problem, but with the two of us in these bodies, our powers were so diminished that even normal attacks were taxing. These small bodies just couldn't handle the power that our older bodies had grown accustomed to.

_**CRACK!**_

_'Uh-oh'._ I thought with dismay as I looked back, and sure enough...the fucking branch was breaking underneath our weight, even if it wasn't even that much. I tried to pull Dominique up quickly so that I could at least jump to a more secure branch, but unfortunately the universe just seems to love to fuck with me.

_**SNAP!**_

_'And there it goes'._ Hichigo thought as the both Dominique and I began to fall towards a mass of other branches. I brought Dominique to my chest before rushing to grab Zangetsu. The hilt wrap quickly unwound itself and I quickly tied the end around Dominique and myself as we approached a very large branch that had many other smaller branches jutting out from it that could easily impale us.

I then tossed Zangetsu up to the nearest sturdiest looking branch. The sword quickly swung around the branch and the end of the blade caught on the edge of the branch while Dominique and I continued to fall. But at the last second the hilt cloth stopped us from getting impaled on the many smaller branches below us. We dangled there for a moment as I tried to catch my breath.

"That was way too fucking close". I sighed to myself as I continued to hold her to my chest. I then tried to find a way out of this situation, but nothing what-so-ever came to mind. I couldn't untie either of us because of the spikes below us, nor were there any other branches close enough for me to leap to, and I couldn't try climbing up the hilt wrap of my zanpakuto cause Dominique was still unconscious.

_'We're just fucked aren't we'._ Hichigo oh so nicely put in. I growled.

"Shut the fuck up you idiot". I yelled out loud at him. I only heard him snicker as he silenced once again. No matter how much training Dominique put me though, he still pissed me off on a near constant basis. I had no clue how she dealt with him for almost five years. That was when I felt a hand smack my face.

"Shut up...sleeeepy". Dominique slurred before mumbling something else unintelligible. I sweat dropped at her as I sighed loudly. That was when Dominique jerked up in shock, causing us to shake and for the branch holding us up to protest.

"Sup sleepy head". I said casually. She turned to look at me with a huge blush on her cheeks. She looked all around us as she took in the situation.

"How in the hell did we get down here"? She asked as she began to work her way to begin climbing the hilt cloth. I quickly began doing the same before I answered her. Making sure that we were both untied as she began climbing ahead of me to get to the branch above us.

"You passed out after using those shadow casting moves. Can't use bigger moves with these child bodies. You know...this kind of reminds me of that time on Sokyoku Hill when we were in the Soul Society". I answered. She kept looking up, but I could see her blush darkening from where I was as we climbed up.

"Should have released my gentie reiin. Wouldn't have passed out if I had". She muttered to herself as she climbed onto the large branch where my Zangetsu was hanging from. I quickly joined her and then we both looked down into the inside of the grove.

We were surprised at what we found.

There was a bright green bubble that was floating in a small meadow in the center of the grove. The bubble appeared to have someone inside of it, but I couldn't see all that well from where we were. I looked over at Dominique and she nodded before we began making our way down the tree branches, making sure to avoid any that had the spikes sticking out of them.

When we finally got down to the bottom of the trees we landed on soft green grass that looked so different from what we'd seen outside this place. I also felt something was wrong here as well.

"Something's not right". I said out loud to Dominique. She nodded.

"Yeah. There's a stifling presence here". She said as she looked around for anything that might attack us. I did the same as we approached the large floating green bubble in the middle of the grassy meadow. When we got close enough to see who or what was inside of it Dominique froze in shock. I looked over at her as she stared at what I could tell was a small child inside the bubble.

The child had brownish blonde hair, her eyes were closed and she was curled up in a tight ball inside of the bubble. Dominique continued to look at her as if remembering something important.

"Bree".

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Nami's POV

_**CLANG!**_

"What's the matter Nami!? Don't tell me after all that talk that you're giving up already"! Kyle yelled at me with a cheshire grin on her face. I was panting, but my Orora Tenshi was humming in my hands as if to tell me to keep going. I took a deep breath and got back into my usual fighting stance.

Kyle came at me again with her double sided scythe while I parried with my axe. The others looked on from afar as we battled. As time went by, the heavy reiatsu in the air grew even heavier, but both Kyle and I weren't giving an inch. We were both sweating from the strain, but she had the upper hand since she was so uncaring of anything except cutting me.

I'd already obtained a small gash on my left cheek, and my haiori now had two separate coat tails instead of one long coat. She'd been aiming at my wings with that one and it pissed me off. At least I'd gotten in a few hits of my own.

"I'm not giving up! This stupid reiatsu is just so damn suffocating! I know you feel it too"! I accused her. She scoffed.

"So what. It ain't the first time we've felt this reiatsu". She sneered at me. I charged again and our blades crashed into one another. We both broke apart again as our wings flapped furiously to keep us airborne. She was just as adept at flying as I was and that was annoying.

_'I shouldn't even be fighting her! We're here to save Orihime, not fight amongst ourselves'!_ I thought agitatedly to myself.

_'Then finish it'. _

I paused in shock as the voice reverberated in my mind. It was deep sounding, and somehow familiar, but so distant at the same time, like a whisper.

_'Orora Tenshi'?_ I thought towards the voice. Nothing answered and I looked down, thinking that I'd just messed up the only chance to speak with my silent zanpakuto. I looked up at Kyle who was coming at me again, a dark sneer on her face as she went to strike me.

I raised my blade just in time to block her strike, and I looked over the long staff of my axe to glare at her. I would finish this now and we would get back to our mission instead of wasting so much time here. I snaked my hand out and grabbed her by the collar on her hoodie, I then tossed her down to the ground harshly. She tried to right herself and counterattack, but I hit her in the side with the side of the spear end of my zanpakuto.

She hissed in pain but I didn't let up. I then managed to kick her legs out from underneath her as she landed on the ground on her feet. She fell onto the sand and I held the spear tip to her chest. She glared at me, but didn't say anything. I looked down at her expressionlessly.

"Enough. I've proven myself to you that I'm just as good a fighter as anyone else here. I am the rightful captain of Squad 14 and will be treated as such. Even if you are not in my squad, you will show me the respect a captain deserves. I understand your accusations though, but understand this; I am a different woman than who I'd been three years ago. Thanks to Kisuke, Ichigo, and Dominique I've become stronger and I will not back down from any challenge. I will kill Tayuya myself and even if I do not get my memories back, I will be satisfied with the way my life has turned out because I have a family again". I said with conviction in my voice.

_'I swore on my soul that I would live. Raiden...that promise still stands, but now I will avenge your death by any means necessary. I will make them pay for what they've done, and then I'll make sure that I bring the rest of our family to come see your grave in the Soul Society'._ I mentally promised my brother.

_'...'._ That same feeling from before returned, but this time I didn't question it. I would wait for my zanpakuto to speak to me patiently. But by the end of this war, Orora Tenshi would have the blood of our enemies on its blade whether it wanted to or not.

I looked back down at Kyle as she stared up at me with an unreadable expression. Then she smirked at me before standing up and dusting herself off as if nothing had happened.

"Good. I'm glad you've finally grown a backbone. Took you long enough bird brain. Next time we fight though, I won't hold back". She said before her eyes rolled back into her head and her head slumped forward. When she looked back up I saw that her eyes were no longer menacing, but simply cool and calculating.

"Uhh...what happened and why is Captain Nami all beat up"? White Kyle said as she looked at me in confusion. I smiled at her sheepishly before I sealed my zanpakuto back into its sealed state and sheathed it.

"Umm...well you went Black Kyle and she and I fought. I beat her and then you came back. That's about it". I said with a smile on my face. Kyle looked down at herself and noticed the small marks I'd made on her, about the same as what she'd done to me. She looked at me in shock for a moment before letting out a loud sigh.

"Oh well. At least she didn't go on another killing rampage so I guess I should be grateful for that. Come on guys, let's keep moving, we've still got a good amount of ground to cover before we get to the exit". She said as she began walking towards the exit again. The girls in her group only hesitated an instant before following her. The others took a bit longer, but after I started walking after her they also followed to head towards the exit.

Me: Whoo! Bree's made her first appearance in forever! And again people sorry it took so long to get this up. Writer's block is a bitch ya know. Now Review people!

Shook by Thousand Foot Krutch

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

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YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	31. Bree's Chaos and Las Noches

Me: Hey guys. Sorry it wasn't up on the 15th. There were some delays and other complications, but at least we're back on track again. I own nothing as you already know. Enjoy the chapter guys!

I give major thank yous to Thunder Claw03, ultima-owner, drmona lord, Scaehime-KingofKing's Daughter, TheTygersSereneChaos, and NamikazeMia for all of yall's great and heartwarming reviews. They really helped out a lot when I got stuck in a bit of a writer's block. Thanks! Fudge and Skittles for everybody!

**Chapter 31: Bree's Chaos and Las Noches**

Dominique's POV

"Bree". I said in shock as I looked at the blonde haired child in front of me and Ichigo. The light brunette/blonde hair, the small scar on the right side of her forehead that was just above her closed eyes that I knew were dark green in color even though they were closed. The instant I saw her all of the memories dealing with her came rushing back.

Bree walking into my classroom for the first time and me sensing her powers even then...

Bree joining my group at the lunch table for the first time...

Bree shocking the hell out of me when she caught me in my spirit form when I was sneaking out of class to go kill a hollow...

Bree telling me about how she was attacked as a little kid by a hollow, about how she got the scar on her face from that hollow...

Bree joining section 13 along with Jessy, Claire, and Brandon...

Bree coming with us to Karakura Town...

Bree going missing after a hollow attacked the group on the other side of town...

"Who"? Ichigo asked beside me. I shook my head to get rid of the sudden dizziness from all those memories running through my head at high speed. Urahara had been right. Bree...like Emma, Claire and Jessy, was one of the few people from back home who felt more like family than a mere friend. She, like the others, was like my older sister...

...And we'd all forgotten about her right when she needed us the most.

I sat back on my haunches and curled into a ball in shame, resting my forehead against my knees. Ichigo wrapped his arms around me comfortingly, confused as to what was going on, but still there and supportive. I looked up at him with his chibi face and hugged him back for a moment. But then I quickly got over the shame of forgetting about Bree and instead focused on what we were here for.

I stood back up and walked over to the green bubble and gently touched it with the fingertips of my left hand. I felt an electric shock go through me, but not like what it would have felt like if I'd been shocked by one of those wolves from earlier. It was like a current running through me, giving me back my strength that I'd lost using the shadow strikes from earlier.

I closed my eyes and opened my mind to the presence inside the bubble. Even though she seemed asleep, maybe I could wake her up and get some answers from her about the situation that Ichigo and I were in. I tried to open a link with Bree, but just when I thought I'd gotten through I was thrown backwards harshly. I landed on my back and slid a few feet.

"Dominique"! Ichigo yelled as he ran over to me. I shook my head and looked up at Ichigo as he looked down at me worriedly. I smiled up at him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. But what the fuck just happened"? I said the last part mostly to myself as I lifted up my right hand to see if there was any damage to it from whatever threw me back. My arm seemed fine, but then I noticed something strange about my right foot that looked off.

I gasped at the sight of the black goo from earlier spreading under my skin, turning it a greyish color as is crawled up my leg through my veins. I cussed loudly and Ichigo looked down to see why. His eyes widened in shock and I quickly tried to use a healing shadow on it to remove the goo, but it didn't seem to have any effect on it, which surprised the hell out of me. I felt panic rise in my chest as I grabbed my Zangetsu before ripping a small piece of the hilt cloth to use as a tourniquet.

I quickly wrapped it around my calf where there wasn't any of the poison and tightened it quickly, hoping that it would at least slow down the poison, whatever it was. I then noticed that there was the same black goo from earlier traveling up through the ground beneath the bubble that had a footprint in it from where my right foot had been touching the disgusting stuff.

The black goo began to bubble and grow until it touched the bubble and the girl who was inside the bubble started to writhe in pain. Her eyes remained closed, but you could tell that the pain was awful. I quickly stood up and went to attack the black goo. But before I could reach the bubble the black goo pierced through it and then suddenly it was gone, and Bree along with it. Leaving behind nothing but a cloud of ash in its wake.

"NO"! I screeched as I'd lost my friend for the second time and once again, I hadn't been able to do anything about it. As soon as the bubble exploded, the black goo began growing even more rapidly. It began coming at us, leaving a trail of death in its wake. The previously green grass turned brown and dead and the flowers shriveled into nothingness as the goo overtook them.

"Run"! Ichigo yelled as we began running back the way we came. But when we got to the trees we saw that all the branches from earlier were gone, they'd been melted off. I saw that the culprit was even more black goo that was seeping between the trees, melting the branches and blocking our escape. Both Ichigo and I cussed as we looked for another possible escape route. Finding none since we were surrounded by the poisonous black goo.

I still hadn't fully recovered from using the shadow casting moves from earlier, but I didn't have a choice but to do so again. So I did the only thing I could do to get us out of here before we were rotted away by the black goo.

"Activating Gentei Kaijo"! I called out as the black rose gentei reiin that was on the right side of my neck heated up and disappeared. My power surged and I was ready to get us out of here. I looked over at Ichigo before grabbing him by his waist. Then I leaped into the air as hard as I could using shunpo.

"What're you about to do"? Ichigo called as we shot about fifty feet into the air. We weren't even a fourth of the way to the tops of the trees so I did the only thing that would get us out of there.

"Shadow Strike 17: Eagle Wings"! I called as the shadow below me rose up from the ground below us to wrap around my torso before making two feathery looking wings appear behind me. Then the shadows completely covered us and finished the body of the eagle. I then used my own shadow to command the shadow eagle to fly strait up.

The black goo began to reach out to get us, but I managed to maneuver the eagle through the thousands of goo hands that reached for us. I had to duck, dodge, and barrel-roll to get through the hands, but eventually we managed to get over the tops of the dying trees. What we saw when we got there wasn't pretty.

The ground wasn't even covered in dead grass anymore; now there was nothing but black rock and ash everywhere. The black goo had completely killed everything, and worse than that, this whole inner world seemed to be on the verge of being overrun by this black poison.

This place was dying and we would too if we didn't find a way to fix this.

I made us fly over the valley until we were at the edge of the cliff before I sent us plummeting down the edge into the space below us. As soon as we fell over the cliff I felt the same numbing sensation from earlier and then suddenly I was myself again. I looked over at Ichigo and saw that he was back to his old self too.

I smiled at him and he smirked back at me as we fell towards whatever world was waiting for us next. The different worlds seemed to be in different states of decay. The flower field seemed to be in the early stages, perhaps meaning that the worlds we would see next would be like the world we just left. The further down we got, the worse the world was.

This place was obviously messed up, but since it was being affected by this poison it was getting worse, so that meant that maybe there was a way to save Bree. As we continued to fall deeper into Bree's inner world both Ichigo and I kept our bodies still, but the shadow eagle kept flapping its wings. At least shadows weren't affected by this place so that was one good thing.

Ichigo and I passed through another set of dark clouds that showed that we were approaching another world fast. When we finished passing through the clouds we were met with a place that looked like a huge bubble, surrounded by several smaller bubbles. These were a bluish green, and looked like they were filled with water instead of air.

I could see inside the bubbles and saw that there were thousands of creatures swimming inside the bubbles. From fish to sharks and from different types of floating coral and seaweed to strange serpent like creatures that looked like oversized sea horses.

I also noticed that several of the bubbles were not a bluish green color like some of the others, but were a sickly brownish green as if it was polluted. The black goo was attacking here too but it didn't seem like it was as bad as the valley so maybe there was still time to help this place. I looked down at my leg and saw that the black poison was being stopped somewhat by the tourniquet. But I could feel the poison in the leg even though it was quickly going numb.

That was when I saw it, a green bubble in the center of the largest bubble. That bubble was the brightest blue in color compared to the others and had the most life in it as well. We were approaching the largest bubble fast thanks to the shadow eagle so I pulled the wings in tight and dived strait into the bubble. As soon as we broke the surface the bubble rippled around us but didn't burst so at least we didn't damage the place.

I took an experimental breath and found that, like my own inner world, I could breathe underwater here as well. I looked over at Ichigo as he figured it out the same time as me. I released the shadow eagle and relaxed my muscles. I looked down to check my leg again and saw that the poison was starting to spread past the tourniquet already.

"We need to hurry". I said to Ichigo, my voice being distorted somewhat from the fact that we were underwater. He nodded and we began to head towards the glowing green bubble in the center of the bubble. We had to swim around several types of strange sea creatures that looked sickly.

"The poison's getting to this place too". Ichigo said as we swam further down. I was just glad that nothing was attacking us yet, but I was sure that something would come after us sooner or later so we kept moving.

It took us several minutes but we soon made it to the bubble. The water around it was even more clean looking than the water in the rest of the huge bubble so this was the center of this place just like the one in the valley. I looked around and thankfully didn't see any of the black goo anywhere near the bubble.

"You there. Who are you". A male's voice came from behind us. Both Ichigo and I looked back and saw a man...well what looked sort of like a man. His hair was bright pink, he wore these strange glasses, oh and from the waist down he looked like a bunch of noodles. From his reiatsu I could tell that he was an arrancar of sorts, but something was wrong with him.

It was almost like I was facing a high caliber shadow clone.

"We should be asking you the same thing. Who the hell are you"? Ichigo said. The pink haired noodle man laughed with an obvious girly gay tone. I had nothing against gays, cause I knew several shadow shinigami who were gay and who were completely awesome and kickass people, but this guy's tone made my left eye twitch for some reason.

"I guess I should introduce myself since I did speak first after all. I'm espada number 8, Szayelaporro Grantz". He said with a flourishing bow. Both Ichigo and I sweat dropped at his weirdness. I then spoke up.

"I don't really give a damn who you are. What I do care about though is this. Are you the one who'd destroying this inner world"? I asked. He smirked at us before laughing gayly again.

"If you mean purging this hollow of its will then yes. I was sent here to destroy this hollow's will so that it may become part of Lord Aizen's army. With this creature Lord Aizen will have all of Hueco Mundo bowing at his knees". He said with a smug smile. I glared at him.

"This hollow is my friend and her name is Bree. And anyway, how in the hell did you even get in here"? I asked.

"Simple really. I'm a pseudo clone of the real 8th espada. After this arrancar refused to join Lord Aizen, he sent me here to break her will and to mold her into a usable weapon as well as conduct some useful research while I'm here".

"So you're not the real espada"? Ichigo asked.

"I know, I know. Your tiny brains are probably too miniscule to comprehend what I'm even saying right now, so perhaps I'll change over to smaller words instead". He said as the two wing-like protrusions from his back raised up. I moved quickly, not to give him a chance to attack. The shadows here were few and far between and the fact that the shadow's didn't have a definite surface to solidify on, that option was useless.

"Getsugatensho". I called as I whipped my Zangetsu from its spot on my back using the hilt wrap to sling it towards the fake espada. The attack caught him off guard and went right through him, effectively cutting him in half while the Getsugatensho caused the rest of him to explode. I smirked.

_'Hells yeah. Take that noodle boy'._ Shiva said with a mental smirk. He splattered apart in a mess of black goo, but then we were surrounded by his laugh that rang through my ears almost painfully.

"Really? You simple minded soul reapers and your pathetic sneak attacks are so pathetic. Do you seriously think you've killed me? I'm not even really alive. I'm the poison in here and as long as I'm here this hollow's will continue to break"! He laughed again and disappeared with an echo. I glared into the space around us and turned back to Bree's bubble. In the bubble held Bree as a teenager, the same way she looked the last time I'd seen her, but with very noticeable changes.

Her face was covered in a mask.

The mask looked like a flattened version of a wolf's skull with a black horn coming from the forehead and had these strange spines growing from the sides that were marked with dark green estigmas that covered the top part of the cheek bones.

I then saw what looked to be a shadowy substance of some sorts floating behind her in the bubble. It was a dark green color so at least it wasn't the black goo and it moved like smoke almost.

"Ichigo. Look at this". I said as I swam over behind the bubble where the smoke thing was. Ichigo followed me and peered into the bubble to check out what the smoke stuff was as well. The smoke formed into a shape that resembled a human form. Then the smoke person turned to look at us with a pair of piercing emerald green eyes that glowed in the smoke.

The smoke then seemed to materialize even more until the smoke resembled that of a young child with long flowing hair that twisted around her in smoky tendrils. She moved towards us and slipped through the bubble to float in front of us. She was about half of my size but the smoke that made up her body seemed to spread out and reform constantly, making her grow and shrink at times.

_**"You are Dominique Kudo. Bree's oldest and most cherished friend".**_ She said with a high pitched child-like voice that seemed sad, lost and lonely at the same time, and then she turned to Ichigo, _**"I do not know of you, but your reiatsu is almost identical to Dominique's. You also wield the same zanpakuto; Zangetsu, meaning that you are also a lost soul guardian, otherwise known as a shadow shinigami".**_ She stared at us blankly. I nodded at her.

"Yes. Who are you though"? I asked. She looked at me with her blank face before speaking.

_**"I'm Bree's inner hollow, Freya. I am the only connection to Bree's humanity that she has left even though I am a hollow. As the millennia have passed, so has my strength. We must save Bree's will or she and I will die. This body though, cannot die. It's immortal, even though we are not. If her will is broken, then this body will become the ultimate weapon for Sosuke Aizen through the Kiseichu".**_ She said somberly. Her glowing green eyes shimmered slightly as if filled with tears.

"How can we stop it then"? Ichigo asked seriously.

_**"The espada whom you'd forced from this realm has infected most of the nine realms that make up Bree's inner world. I've done what I've could to stop him, but as you've seen, the defenses of each realm are weakening quickly".**___Ichigo interrupted her.

"Wait. It was you who sent those things after us"? Ichigo demanded with a tic mark on his forehead. She looked at him blankly for a moment before answering.

_**"Yes. I was not able to sense who you were because of the poison. I had presumed that you had been more of the espada's attacks on this world. My abilities have been failing me, and my mind is...confused most of the time. Bree is in an even worse state than I am. I may be growing weaker because of that espada, but I will fight until I breathe my last breath".**_ She explained seriously. I then spoke up.

"Is there a way to expel the poison from this inner world"? I asked. She shook her head.

_**"I don't know. I've been trying for over fifty years now with no luck. You might be able to though since you are both full-fledged lost soul guardians".**_ She said, once again using the ancient name that shadow shinigami were once called. She then paused to look at us with a strange look on her face, _**"I've also realized that there is a soul reaper within this world as well".**_She said quietly. I then spoke up.

"Yeah. Her name is Rukia Kuchiki. She's the reason we came here in the first place. We'd thought that Bree was about to kill her since she was lying unconscious below her". I said.

_**"Yes. Bree's reiastu is so heavy that those who come close enough to her while she is in her ressurection state are either crushed completely by the weight of the reiatsu or dragged into her inner world. It seems that the three of you were lucky in that you were not killed by her reiatsu".**_ She said. Ichigo then spoke up.

"Do you know where she is"? He asked. She seemed to shake her head, although it was difficult to tell with her body moving so much.

_**"She was sent directly into the Moonlit Maze because she was seen as both nonthreatening nor food. Her reiatsu wasn't high enough to be considered dangerous to this place and since she was a soul reaper, she was transported to the only safe place left within this world".**_ She answered.

"But what about us"? I asked.

_**"Your reiatsu was strong enough to be seen as a great threat, and since both of you are shadow shinigami, your hollow natures were what was identified as the threats, leading you to be sent to different worlds to be taken out by the few defenses that were still left in this world. I apologize though. If I'd have known who you were I would have instantly sent you to the Moonlit Maze in hopes of you finding your friend and perhaps even saving Bree as well".**_ I frowned.

"We're going to save Bree, and get Rukia out of here. Getting Rukia back safe was our first objective, but helping you out is just as important, if not even more so now that we know what's going on". I promised her. If she died while we were in here, we were probably dead too. But I left that bit out.

"We'll do whatever we can". Ichigo smirked at her confidently.

"_**Thank you. I am sure that the combined forces of the two of you will save us. I will assist you in any way I can in order to save Bree as well. You two are strong, yet do not see your true potential inside of you. You know not of the strength hidden in your blood. You have something that others of your kind do not".**_ She answered.

I looked at Ichigo. We don't know of our bloodline? His father's a soul reaper. It's not a common thing in Squad 0 to have a soul reaper parent, but it does happen every now and again. He already knows about his dad though... But about me...both my parents were full-fledged humans.

"What are you ta-"? I was interrupted by the sound of an explosion. It came from below us but when I looked down, all I saw was the water. Then Freya screamed in pain. I looked to her and saw that her smoke-like form was fading quickly as she curled in on herself. She looked back at us with fright visible in her glowing eyes.

_**"Please. Please stop Szayelaporro. Go to the deepest part of the inner world. The Moonlit Maze is where Bree's last ounce of will remains untouched. If that bubble is destroyed then we will all die. Please, save Bree".**_ She pleaded as she faded even more in front of us. I then saw that the bubble that had been in front of us was withering away slowly as the black goo welled up from inside the bubble where Bree was curled up inside.

"How do we find the last bubble"? I asked as Freya faded even more.

_**"The Moonlit Maze is the realm that is the very bottom of this world. You must travel through the maze until you reach the center. If you can awaken Bree completely, then she'll be able to banish the poison from her mind. I've been unable to reach her, but you may be strong enough to reach the center of the maze without being destroyed by the poison. Please hurry. I don't have much time left".**_ She said as she faded completely away, the echo of her voice fading too. I looked to Ichigo.

"Let's hurry". I said before I began to swim strait down. He quickly joined me as we shot through the water towards the bottom of the bubble. When we broke through the bubble we began to fall towards the next world below us.

"How do we know when we get to the Maze"? Ichigo yelled as we plummeted through another set of black clouds.

"I don't know. I can only guess that we'll know when we get there". I yelled back at him as we fell towards what looked to be a place that looked exactly like Hueco Mundo except that the sand looked black and there were sand storms everywhere you looked. I decided that I didn't even want to try to deal with that so I grabbed Ichigo and tried to use shunpo.

It caused us to be thrown off to the side and into a sickening barrel roll, but at least it was what I wanted this time. We fell past the black desert and through another black cloud that somehow seemed thicker than the others. It felt like instead of water making up the cloud, it felt heavy and slightly sticky. I looked down and saw that both Ichigo and I were covered in a thin layer of the black goo.

It clung to us sickeningly but I quickly expelled it off of me with a reiatsu pulse. Unfortunately I couldn't do the same for the poison in my leg. I also sent a reiatsu pulse over Ichigo's body, ridding him of the black goo as well as we continued to plummet towards what looked like a canyon. The difference between this realm and the rest of them was that I couldn't see the edge from this height.

_'Maybe this is the Moonlit Maze'._ I thought to myself as we fell towards the canyon. As we entered the realm's atmosphere we felt a sudden change in the pressure in the air. Wind whipped around us at dizzying speeds. It dug into my skin almost as if it were made of blades and my hair was tossed everywhere, slapping against me like it was made of whips.

"We've gotta land"! Ichigo yelled above the thundering wind. I nodded at him as we tried to make our way down to the bottom of the canyon. We were about a hundred feet from the bottom when the wind suddenly stopped completely. Everything went silent around us as we began to fall towards the ground in a free fall. Ichigo and I twisted around lithely and landed on our feet at the same time.

We both straightened out of our crouches and looked around to gather our bearings. Ichigo was the first one to speak.

"I don't think this is the maze". He said as he looked around at the black goo covered rocks. This place was in even worse shape than the valley from before. I had a foreboding feeling that caused the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

_'Shiva'?_ I called to her.

_'Link'._ The called back. Hopefully we would be able to link here. Bankai was unavailable, kido was limited since I was more of an attack kido user, and shadow casting took way too much energy. Regular hollification also seemed to be out so that left linking.

"Ichigo". I said to Ichigo as I walked up to him. My reiatsu calming and melding with Shiva's as we linked our souls together. I felt my eyes tingle as they changed, physically showing that I'd linked with my inner hollow. I felt my strength easily double as our powers merged.

"What is it Dominique"? He asked as he looked at me. I then turned my face up to look at him with my altered eyes. His eyes widened slightly, but his reiatsu remained calm and stable. I smirked at him. I'd been hoping that he would have jumped a little or even tensed up a bit. I had when I first saw a shadow shinigami link with their inner hollow early on in Squad 0.

It had been the first time I'd been to the barracks when I was twelve. I'd watched as two shadow shinigami sparred in the plaza. They were clashing swords with smiles on their faces, but then one of them frowned and their reiatsu spiked so quickly that it felt like I was being smothered under the weight of it at first. I watched as the guy's eyes turned from a dark green into black and deep purple.

I'd thought that his hollow had taken over his body unwillingly and was about to go on a rampage or something when the female shadow shinigami who'd been fighting him did the same thing and they began to spar again before Rose yelled at them to settle down before they ended up destroying one of the huge willows that they were sparring by. She threatened them with her hollow's zanpakuto Usoratih.

Both of them began to quake in fear as they apologized before their eyes changed back to normal and they started joking around as they left to go elsewhere quickly. I didn't know about Usoratih at the time so I'd guessed that she might have been Rose's inner hollow. It wasn't until later that day that I'd met Sero, and a week later before I unfortunately met Usoratih. Rose and Sero were unusual shadow shinigami because unlike other shadow shinigami she had two separate zanpakuto spirits and two separate zanpakutos for herself and her hollow.

Normally a shadow shinigami and his/her hollow had the same zanpakuto, although a hollow's zanpakuto can be a reverse form of the shadow shinigami's zanpakuto, such was the case with Ichigo and myself. Rose was also unusual because her zanpakuto spirits were always free to roam around as they pleased without it affecting Rose and Sero's use of their blade forms.

Hitarosu had gold colored hair that was up in the same ponytail that Rose kept hers and had gold eyes. Her outfit was a gold robe that looked like it originated in Africa that left her arms bare, and had all sorts of bracelets and baubles dangling from it and her arms. And she had a jewel covered necklace around her neck. She was happy all the time and mischievous like Rose.

Usoratih on the other hand had a full body black robe that was the same color as her black hair and black eyes. The robe had a few sashes on it and a few other charms that dangled from around her neck. From just looking at Usoratih, you'd thing that she had a dark and silent personality, but then you'd be horribly, horribly wrong.

The first time I'd seen her was a week after joining Squad 0, I'd been heading to class with Shirozangetsu and Shiva. I shuddered as I remembered the first time I'd met her.

"Dominique"? He asked as he looked at me calmly. I giggled, my voice sounding like both Shiva and myself had just giggled at the same time.

"Link up. It'll give us an edge if noodle man comes back". I said with my double voice ringing almost eerily. I smiled at him pleasantly, and he smiled back at me before closing his eyes and a look of concentration came on his face. I felt his reiatsu surge and then stabilize as he and Hichigo linked. I watched as he opened his eyes to show them being black and gold, the same as my eyes.

Unlike when one linked while in their human body, our eyes were completely hollow-like, having the black around the irises like when we were in our hollow states. While in our human forms though, our eyes didn't fully change when we willingly linked. Well they would at first, but as soon as the eyes completely changed, the black would fade and show only the altered irises. It kept other humans from suspecting too much. Although if your hollow took full control of your body instead of a link, the black showed as well as the altered iris color.

He smirked at me and I smirked back at him as he turned his head to crack his neck loudly. Then he began to get a feel of the power running through him as he stretched his muscles and clenched his fist.

"Wow. That was a whole hell of a lot easier since that fight with Grimmjow that first time". He said with his double voice.

"Yeah. Soon it'll be second nature. But now it's time to go. So let's move it". I said as we began running deeper into the canyon. We both ran with our blades drawn and at the ready. We were not about to get ambushed again.

"There you are. I knew you'd come here. Like mice running in a maze". Came Szayelaporro's voice from every direction around us. Ichigo and I paused to look around, anticipating his next move, and sure enough the espada clone materialized from several of the rock faces around us. He had a demented smile on his face that gave me the creeps even worse than Gin Ichimaru's grin.

"Yeah, we're here. We're here to kick your ass and to save my friend". I sneered at the clone. The tutted at me, as if I was a misbehaving child throwing a temper tantrum.

"You do know that no matter how many times you destroy us clones that we'll always be able to regenerate". He said as he rested his hand against his forehead as if he were tired. He reminded me of a crappy actor trying too hard to act for a movie part.

"Not if we fully awaken Bree. After all, that's why she's been asleep all this time isn't it. Because if she wakes up, then that means that she'd be able to kick you out of here faster than a chicken running away from a KFC on Sunday". I said with my country accent twanging just as I said that. Both Ichigo and the espada clone looked at me weirdly. I blushed lightly and scratched the back of my head absently, "I'm country so deal with it". I said as I looked down in embarrassment.

I then had a devious thought. Since I still had my gentei reiin unlocked and I was linked with Shiva, then my shadow casting would be at its strongest. I focused my reiatsu into my shadow and spread it out around me faster than a lightning strike. I sent it up all the walls around us and effectively capturing the dozen or so Szayelaporro clones around us. I smirked as I held out my hands to better control the shadows.

"Shadow Strike 13: Paralyzation Lock"! I called with a dark smile on my face. A surprised look came on all of the clones faces. And Ichigo looked at me with a dark smirk of his own. The hand holding his zanpakuto flexed, silently asking me if he could attack them. I shook my head.

_'Time to finish these freaks off'._ Shiva and I thought at the same time. I quickly bit down on the pad of my middle finger and charged up my reiatsu as Shiva fed me hers through the link.

"Shadow Strike 20: Final Oblivion"! We called out together as our reiatsu surged from my body into the shadows around us. A small tendril of shadow reached around my hand and covered the blood that seeped from my fingertip. After the blood toll was taken from me the shadows rose up exitedly around me, willing to obey any command now that they'd been fed with the blood of a shadow shinigami.

The shadows wrapped around my arms and then I was able to feel every shadow around me, and all those whom I'd trapped in them. I felt that the shadows below Ichigo's feet were uninterested in him, but were still aware not to hurt him. With my first gentei reiin off, it was almost child's play to use the shadow casting, even though this was the strongest of the shadow strikes.

I knew I'd feel it when I released the cast, but for now I was riding a power high, and with a link it was even stronger. Shadow casting was only possible to those who have strong connections with their inner hollows, because it takes both soul reaper and hollow energies to manipulate the shadows at all. The stronger the connection between the two, the stronger and more versatile the shadow cast get.

My skill in shadow casting was one of the big things that made it possible for me to become the youngest section leader in Squad 0 history. After all, I had two inner hollows and was on good terms with both of them even before I made it to Squad 0. Even though I no longer had two inner hollows, I still had the ability to use my shadow casting at a near captain level.

Rose also had a strong connection with her inner hollow Sero. Rose could do all of the shadow strikes and not even take off one of her gentei reiins, and still keep going, but when it came to basic kidos that didn't deal with attacking, she tended to have problems like me. But give her any hado to do and she'd literally blast you away with a smirk on her face.

I looked around at the struggling espada clones. I smirked as I raised my hands into the air to slowly clench my fist together. The shadows quickly moved up the clones' bodies and then began to shrink. All I heard around me were pained shrieks. This was not only the strongest shadow strike, but also the most torturous. It was the slowest to kill, and the most painful.

It slowly shrunk, crushing your body in on itself, while also sending shadow spears inside of the enemy at the same time. By the time it was over, all that's left is a bloody mass of flesh about the size of a human head. It was like a garbage compactor for bodies. Normally, if I'd have used this move, it would have been on a practice dummy, but this guy didn't deserve mercy after what he'd done to my friend.

I kept the shadow tendrils around my arms and began running down the canyon with Ichigo a respectable distance behind me. He was probably a bit wary after seeing that move. I didn't blame him though, cause it was the most brutal of the shadow strikes.

"You little-"! Another clone's voice came from my right. I lashed my hand out, causing the shadows to surge up and crushed him as well before he could finish his sentence, leaving behind only a gurgling scream in my wake. After about five minutes or so of running through the huge canyon that was being filled with the screams of dying clones we were met with the entrance of a large cave in the face of the wall of the canyon.

The big difference in this place and the rest of the canyon was that there was no black goo around the cave entrance at all. Nothing but deep red rock that shimmered slightly as if crystals were buried in the rock. There was also a light that seemed to come from the cave. It was soft, and reminded me of moonlight.

The Moonlit Maze.

"Well. Looks like we're here". Ichigo said as he moved up beside me. Now he wasn't even trying to keep his distance anymore. He was really getting the hang of this quickly. I smiled at him cockily as I released the control of the shadows. I felt the drain on me settle quickly, nearly taking my breath away in the process, but I caught myself on the shimmering red rock of the cave entrance.

I leaned against the rock as I panted, sweat rolling down my face and neck. I was still linked, and that helped give me my strength back sooner. I soon caught my breath and stood strait again. Ichigo remained beside me, still linked as well as he rested his hand gently on my back. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Let's keep it moving. Even though I took out a ton of those freaks, there's still probably tons more". I said as I entered the cave with Ichigo at my side. As soon as we entered the cave the rock changed. The rock was no longer red, but a deep blue that still shimmered like the rock outside. This rock though had large chunks of glowing crystals sticking out of the walls that emitted the moonlight. They seemed familiar somehow, even though I'd never seen these crystals before. I reached my hand out and the pale light rested on my hand.

_'AAAAAAAHHHHHHH'!_ Shiva screamed in my head, causing me to scream as the pain registered with me as well through our link until it snapped and I was one person again. I gripped my head and shut my eyes as what felt like a terrible migraine rip through my head. I managed to crack my eyes open to see that Ichigo was bent over, holding his head too as what was happening to me happened to him too.

As soon as it started though, it stopped. I gritted my teeth as the shockwaves of pain ebbed away. I managed to stand up and felt that not only was my link severed with Shiva, but I couldn't feel her in my mind anymore. I panicked at first and ran back out of the cave. As soon as I stepped off the shimmering rock and out of that weird moonlight, I felt the connection with Shiva reappear.

_'Shiva, are you okay'?_ I thought to her worriedly. I heard her groan in pain.

_'Fine, ugh. That place though, it stole all of my power from me. I can feel it. That place is made of moonlight purification crystals'._ She explained. I agreed with her. I knew I recognized them from somewhere. The crystal that made up the walls of that cave was a rare mineral that was even harder to find than sekki seki. I was surprised that she had such a rare mineral in her inner world. I'd never heard of someone having moonlight crystals in their inner world.

Those crystals were why our hollows were unable to come out and why we couldn't hollify. Their influence had spread all throughout the inner world and even though the espada seemed pretty strong, these crystals weakened him too.

"Well that explains why the link was severed and why Freya couldn't get in there". I said out loud before explaining to Ichigo the situation. Those crystals were the only thing keeping Szayelaporro from getting in there either. I looked back at Ichigo who was also out of the cave and recovering from his link severing. The crystal purified a hollow's abilities and weakened hollows to the point that they were turned back into human souls.

They were that powerful, and were only found in the Squad 0 Realm. The thing was though, they only purified true hollows completely. They would kill arrancars and inner hollows. But Shiva and Hichigo were safe inside our souls. They would be in pain, but they'd live.

"What now"? Ichigo asked as he straightened from his crouch.

"We still have to go in there. Shiva and Hichigo won't be permanently harmed. And we won't be in pain as long as we don't link up again or try to use any of our hollow abilities". I told him as I stepped back into the cave. I felt a ripple of pain go through me, and felt my connection with Shiva disappear again. The feeling of not being able to sense my inner hollow was unsettling. It was like I was bare and exposed, and I wondered how soul reapers could stand not having someone to share their thoughts with.

"Wow that feels weird". Ichigo said as he held his hand to the side of his head, "Who would have thought I'd have gotten so used to that guy's presence in my head". I giggled at the confused look on his face.

"Eerie isn't it"? I asked as we began walking down into the cave. He nodded his head.

"Yeah. It's almost like I've lost a part of myself, like I've forgotten something very important". He said as we both walked quickly deeper into the cave.

"That's exactly what it is and I don't like it. The sooner we do this, the sooner we get out of here". I said as we approached a particularly bright light. As we approached it we saw that it was a torch of some sort made of the crystal that lit up two separate pathways. Both Ichigo and I sighed at the same time.

"Well it isn't called the Moonlit Maze for nothing I guess". He said with a huff. I agreed with him.

"We shouldn't split up since there are only two of us and both of us might end up lost, but we don't have time to try and take all the different paths that are probably in this place either. Not to mention we also have to find Rukia". I tried to think of a kido that would allow us to find our way through the maze, but none came to mind that were in my arsenal. The only thing I could think of was a shadow cast, but with the crystals...well it would be very painful and I might not even be able to do it at all. I sat down on the floor of the cave.

"What is it Dominique"? Ichigo asked as he looked down at me as I crossed my legs and folded my arms. Sitting in the indian position.

"I don't have a choice. I have to use a shadow cast". I told him. He looked at me in surprise.

"But the crystals". He said seriously.

"I can handle it. Just sit with me and hold onto my shoulders to keep me still". I warned him seriously. He nodded his head and sat on the ground as well. I eeped in surprise though when he lifted me up and held me in his lap while resting my head against his broad chest. A blush crawled across my face, but I refused to look at him. This wasn't the time to be all mushy and have an oogie moment.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I placed my hands on the cold ground in front of me. I forced myself to open the connection with Shiva and then used our energies to manipulate my shadow beneath Ichigo and myself.

"Shadow Strike 3: Serpent's Tail". I murmured. Pain ran though me but I gritted my teeth against it. I also felt Ichigo's warm hands on my shoulders as he messaged them. I kept my focus as I placed my consciousness within my shadow so that with it I would be able to see where I was going. I forced the shadow to move forward and up to just below the crystal where the path forked.

As I looked through the shadow, I could see in all directions, but I couldn't hear, smell, or feel anything. This was one of the non-attacking shadow strikes used primarily for surveillance purposes. I made the shadow split up into two tendrils as they went down both paths. Then as the shadow traveled down the paths, I broke it up more if there were more tunnels.

Even though I was inside the shadows going through the maze, I could feel how my body, without my will to control it, was withering in pain with Ichigo holding me tightly to his chest to keep me still. I could even feel his head resting against my shoulder, whispering words of encouragement and love. I put that thought to the side though as I continued to explore the tunnels.

As several of the shadow tendrils came to dead ends I halted them, while the others continued on. There were so many tunnels, and so many that ended in dead ends or even ended back where you started. Thanks to the shadows though, I could tell where I'd already been or where I hadn't been yet.

After about ten minutes of going through the tunnels I found a particular dead end that had something moving around in it. I moved the shadow closer and saw that the thing that was moving around was Rukia! I quickly moved the shadow and wrapped it around her foot, but I made sure to make it so that she wouldn't feel it. There was no need to freak her out.

After I attached the shadow to her foot, I let the other part of the shadow mark the point of the dead end while I stopped the other tendrils from moving on for a moment. I slipped my consciousness from the shadow and back into my body. Ichigo noticed the difference right away since the withering stopped now that I could hold my own body still again.

"You found your friend Bree"? He asked. I shook my head.

"No, but I found Rukia. She's awake and obviously lost in the maze. I've tagged her with a shadow so I can keep track of her. Once I find Bree, I'll make sure that we grab Rukia up before we get to Bree". I said as I turned back to look at Ichigo's face. His expression was one of worry, which confused me, "What's wrong"? I asked. He didn't say anything, but instead leaned forward and reached towards my right leg.

When he lifted the hakama from my leg I gasped. The tourniquet, which had only slowed down the spread of the poison from earlier, was now completely failing. The poison was now spreading up my leg at an alarming rate. I could see it going through my veins and turning the flesh grey. Even though I could still feel my leg, I could now tell that the poison was having an effect on my nervous system too.

I tried to wiggle my toes and found that they simply twitched, unable to move correctly. I gripped Ichigo's arm that was around my waist. I put the hakama legging back down and sighed.

"I better get back to finding Bree". I said in a deathly calm voice. I leaned back against Ichigo again and felt him grip me even more tightly as I slipped back into the shadows again. This time I focused all of my attention at getting through the maze. Through all the twist and turns and different paths that led hundreds of different ways.

Then I finally got to a path that seemed brighter than all the others. I turned in that direction and felt even more pain in my mind, so much that it almost forced me back into my body, but I kept going. I wound my way through the tunnel until I came to a huge room that was lit up with thousands upon thousands of the moonlight crystals.

I could feel myself being pushed back into my body from the power of the crystals and I could hear Shiva's screams in my head even though our link had been severed. I'd found what I'd been looking for though. There was a large green bubble in the center of the room, surrounded by seven huge moonlight crystals that stood like pillars. I focused the shadow to move just past the entrance of the room so there would be less pain, but I didn't go any further than that.

After I did that I checked up on where Rukia was. She'd moved away from where I'd found her and was heading in the direction towards the room, even though she would probably go off the path there. I then set the shadows to lead me there and I slipped back into my body. I gasped out in pain, but for the most part relaxed the muscles that were spasming.

I leaned back again and looked up at Ichigo who looked back at me with a pained look in his eyes. The pain must have been affecting my body pretty bad, even though my consciousness had been in the shadows. I could feel Ichigo relax against me when I smiled up at him reassuringly.

"You find her"? I nodded at him.

"Yep. Let's get moving". I said as I tried to stand up, only for me to fall back into his lap. My legs giving out on me.

"Here, I'll carry you there. Just lead me the right way". He said as he went to stand up himself, and grabbed me up with him. He held me to his chest bridal style and started walking deeper into the cave towards the first fork off. I blushed as I looked away from his face, embarrassed about having to be carried and from him being so close, but when I looked back, his face was flushed red as well and a small smile on his lips, but his eyes were glued forward.

My eyes stayed on his lips for what seemed like a long time before I felt him stop below me. He asked which way as he moved his eyes to look at me, catching me in the act of staring at him, and I told him to go left as I looked away again. At that he turned and began walking down the left path, following the black shadow on the ground. After that I turned away from his face and focused on the shadows ahead of us. It took me going at high speed seven minutes to navigate through all the different maze tunnels and to find both Rukia and Bree.

If I guestimated right, it would take us about fifteen to twenty minutes to get there if Ichigo keeps up the walking pace, maybe down to ten if he goes at a jog to a run. I thought to myself about how long it would take to get there, while directing Ichigo to go into the correct tunnels.

Every time he would pause at a forked path I would tell him which one to take. As we were about to head down another tunnel we both heard a set of footsteps heading our way. I checked the shadows and found that Rukia was blindly making her way towards us. I led Ichigo in her direction and off of the path that lead to Bree. I could tell that Rukia was heading further and further away from our position so I quickly manipulated the shadow on her foot to connect with the shadow that lined the path she was on.

"Shadow Strike 13: Paralyzation Lock". I called and the shadows below her rose up to lock her feet in place while winding up her body. She screamed and tried to fight it but Ichigo yelled out to her.

"Calm down Rukia! It's us. We're here to help". Ichigo yelled into the tunnel while picking up the pace.

"Ichigo"?! She called.

"Don't forget about me"! I yelled with a smirk on my face.

"Dominique"! She yelled just as we rounded a corner and almost crashed right into her. She looked at us in shock for a moment, and Ichigo and I stared right on back. Then the three of us busted out laughing, before Rukia went to move again and remembered that she was locked to the ground. She glared at me while I whistled innocently.

"Release". I said as the shadows around her legs dispersed. She continued to glare at me for a moment before she sighed.

"Do either of you have any idea where we're at"? She asked. Both Ichigo and I nodded.

"Yep. We're in the inner world of one of my friends who went missing when I first moved to Karakura town, who traveled back in time and is now a very powerful hollow that Aizen's trying to get his hands on to make an ultimate weapon". I summed up quickly for her. She looked at me like I was crazy before looking at Ichigo.

"Unfortunately she's telling the truth". He said with a shrug. Rukia sighed even louder this time.

"Okay then. Then explain to me why you're carrying her around like that". She demanded while pointing at us. I glared at her this time.

"The crystals in the walls here keep me from using my hollow abilities freely. I'm using one of said abilities and it's what's getting us through this maze. I can't currently stand because of the pain the crystals are causing me and the major drain my shadow cast is". I explained to her seriously. She looked at me apologetically and Ichigo turned around.

"Lead on Dominique". He said to me as he began walking back down the tunnel to where we were at when we came after Rukia. Rukia began following us and I led Ichigo closer and closer to the central room. When we finally got to the tunnel that was brighter than all the others I released the shadow cast. As I released it my body when totally limp for a second. After straining so much, it was a relief to relax.

A few moments later I asked Ichigo to let me down. He set me down gently on the stone floor, and I wobbled for a moment, after being carried for so long my legs had gone to sleep. I tried to wiggle my toes, but found that neither of them would move. I looked down and saw that now both of my legs had turned gray and I could feel the numbness of the poison spreading up my thighs.

It was also getting harder to breath.

"Not good". I said quietly as Rukia noticed my legs.

"What happened to you"? She asked. I shook my head.

"That black goo from outside got on me and it's poisoning my body. The faster we awaken Bree, the faster we can get out of here". I said as I began to walk towards the entrance to the central room.

Ichigo's POV

The poison was spreading faster. I could tell that Dominique was worried about it, even though she hid it well. Her steps, which were normally so even and fluid-like were jerking and awkward. She didn't even mention that she might not be able to get the poison out of herself.

"Come on, let's move it". She urged as sweat began to run down her face. The poison was taking a bigger toll on her than what she was letting on. She led us into the cavern that was lit up completely with the moonlight crystals. At least Dominique wasn't using her shadow cast anymore, so she wasn't in too much pain. Although being around so many of these things was causing me pain as well.

These crystals were trying to purify Hichigo, and his pain was my own, showing just how much we'd connected thanks to Dominique's training. And just how much I'd come into my shadow shinigami blood.

_'Sorry dude'. _I mentally apologized, hoping that he could hear me even though I couldn't hear him. He annoyed the hell out of me all the time, but he was still my inner hollow, and a part of me.

As we got near the center of the room we saw what was inside the green bubble that lit up the room almost as much as the thousands of crystals that surrounded it. The person inside the bubble looked way different than all the others that we'd seen. The girl with shoulder length blondish brown hair and normal clothes was gone. In her place was what was obviously an arrancar of sorts.

Her hair was even longer than Dominique's and was dark green. She had the fringes on the side of her face like that mask from before, but her face was bare except for two markings that were in the same place that had been on the mask too. And there were two small lung dragon styled horns resting on the top of her head. Her outfit had completely changed as well.

She wore what looked like a halter top, and a long skirt that had a slit up the side up to the belt around her hips. The skirt revealed that there were a pair of black leggings underneath it. She also had boots and hand guards that led to her clawed hands. I looked over at Dominique who was looking at her lost friend with a sad look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Bree. If I'd have been there when you were attacked. I could have stopped this. But now I'm going to do everything I can to help you". She said as her head bowed in shame. I reached my hand forward to comfort her.

"I don't think so~". Came that espada's voice from where Dominique was standing. Both Rukia and I looked at her in shock as her head wrenched back and she let out a scream. Her reiatsu skyrocketed in agitation before nearly disappearing completely. I ran over to her to try and help her, but then she lurched forward and a black mass exploded from her back. (Think Crona and Ragnarok from Soul Eater...ewwe)

Her Zangetsu was thrown off of her and sent flying into the rock wall, sticking there even though still sheathed with the hilt wrap. The black goo landed on the floor and began to move while Dominique fell to the floor and was still.

"Dominique"! I yelled as I ran over to her side. I looked at her back and saw that it was bleeding heavily. I called Rukia over and she quickly got to sealing it with a healing kido. As she did this I moved Dominique up so that she was resting on my lap as I sat with my legs folded beneath me. By the time Rukia was nearly done healing her the black mass that had finished moving and was now in the form of the espada from earlier.

"I really have to thank you soul reapers. If it wasn't for you, I never would have gotten through that awful maze. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you". The clone said as he gave a flourished bow. When he straightened back up he sneered at us, "But now I'll have to cut this play short and head straight to the finale". He said as his wing-like appendages rose up. They all shot at us.

"Bakudo number 8, Seki". Dominique said as she lifted her left hand into the air. A bright red sheild appeared in front of us that blocked the wings from smashing into us. I looked down at her as she glared tiredly at the espada clone. Sweat dripped down her face, her breath coming in short hard pants, and her back was still bleeding, but not as heavily. I took a glance at her legs and saw that the poison from earlier was gone.

_'So that bastard had been the poison all along'._ I thought angrily to myself. I looked back down at Dominique who was struggling to stand up.

"Dominique. You're not fully healed yet. If you don't stay still you'll bleed to death". Rukia said seriously. Dominique glanced at her, dark rings under her gray eyes that were turning more silver by the second. Then she turned back to the espada clone.

"I'm going to ... kick your ... fucking ass ... for that". Dominique seethed as she reached into her shihakusho and pulled out a small black drawstring bag. She reached into it and pulled out a bright red pill that was about twice the size of a soul candy.

"What is that"? I said without thinking. Dominique turned her now silver eyes on me before she smiled.

"Squad 0 energy pill. They send a shockwave of reiatsu directly into your muscles. It has a nasty little side effect though, but I don't have a choice but to use the damn thing". She said as she put it in her mouth.

"Side effect"?

"I suggest you take Rukia and head off to the side of the cavern. Otherwise I might not be able to keep from killing the two of you as well". She said as she bit down on the pill. She chewed it slowly, grimacing as she did before swallowing it with a shudder. She looked back at Rukia and me with an apologetic smile before turning her attention back to the espada clone.

"Go on ahead. Try anything you like soul reaper. No matter what your feeble brains come up with, you have no chance of winning against me. While I was inside your body, I used your DNA. So I'm at full strength in here, not to mention I was siphoning off your reiatsu. You're almost completely empty"! He cackled darkly.

"Oh yeah? Well, you're about to get a wakeup call from Hell. I'm a shadow shinigami, not a soul reaper you pink bastard, and we don't go down that easily". She said as her head slumped forward again. At first I'd thought that some of the Szayelaporro's poison was inside of her still, but when her whole posture changed from tense to relaxed I sensed something odd in her reiatsu. Her reiatsu seemed stable, but her whole body began shaking. It seemed like she was having a seizure or something, but then I heard her laugh.

Only it wasn't her normal laugh. It started out small, before turning into a crazed psychotic bubbly laugh that made my blood run cold. After she stopped laughing she wobbled a bit, seeming unsteady on her feet.

"Whoopsies. Hehehehe. This floor's so slippery! I better take these off"! She said as she slipped off her sandals, nearly falling face first on the floor in the process. She stared at them for a moment with what looked like a drunken stupor on her face. Her mouth was puckered a bit, as if she was having to think really hard about something.

"What are you playing at girl-"! Szayelaporro said just before a sandal landed directly on his face. I looked back at Dominique to see that she was looking at him with a crazed smile on her lips, her eyes were wider than I'd ever seen them and were still a flat silver color.

"I don't like you~"! She sang happily as she began to sway again. Then she flicked out her arm, and something whizzed through the air. The second sandal landed directly on top of the other one that had landed on Szayelaporro's face. There was a trail of smoke going up into the air as the clone was thrown to the ground from the force of the sandals hitting him.

Dominique continued to wobble and stagger around as she looked at Szayelaporro with a drunken look on her face. A high pitched giggle would escape her lips every now and again as well as she swayed. Then she turned to look at me. Her eyes were still a flat silver, saying that she was pissed beyond belief, but her expression was strangely happy. A blush appeared on her face.

"Ichigo-kun~"! She sang as she ran to me, skipping every other step as she came closer, "Huggles"! She squealed as she threw herself at me faster than what I'd been expecting. She crashed into me and we both fell to the ground.

"Dominique! What's going on with you"? I asked her as she straddled me while looking at me like an adoring puppy. Her head cocked to the side, as if confused.

"What do you mean? Didn't I tell you earlier? Side effect! Make's me all happy! WHEEE! All bright and pretty"! She squealed as she nuzzled me while wrapping her arms around my neck. I felt blood still coming from her injured back.

"Dominique, you're still hurt. You need to get that healed". I told her urgently, and breathlessly as she began to kiss my neck. I was quickly becoming dizzy from her actions. She paused at that though. She reached back and touched her back with her right hand. She pulled her hand back and it was covered in dark red blood. She looked at it confusedly for a moment before smiling and licking it off of her hand with her tongue.

"I'm okay! The blood's pretty and I won't die from such a little booboo! Now I gots to go! Gotta go whoop noodle dude's butt and make him pay for what he's done. Then I get to come back for you and then we play a game. Otay"!? She asked with a bright smile on her face, her head cocking to the side again as she ran her hands innocently across my chest and under my shihakusho, causing me to blush darkly and shiver at her actions. A light blush still covered her face as she got up off of me.

I could only sit there and catch my breath after that little stunt she pulled. Who knew she could be like that without Shiva sitting there and making her do that. Usually it was our hollows that were the pervs, but this pill thing showed that Dominique had another side to her that she kept hidden. She stood up strait and began to walk over to the downed espada clone while still swaying unsteadily.

"Okay! Come on...err...Szayel...Szayela...Saz-gay"! She cackled as she pointed towards the glaring espada whose face was still smoking from her sandals, "Time to play a game! What do you wanna play? Torture time for morons, idiot beat down, or pin the sword on the dummy"! She said as she lifted her hand into the air, causing her Zangetsu to shoot at her from the rock. It landed heavily in her hands, causing her to stagger heavily and spin from the momentum, completely unlike how she normally would have acted.

"I think I'll just finish you first". Szayelaporro, now dubbed Saz-gay, said as he shot his tentacles at her. Dominique stood still before shooting her hand out to grab one of the tentacles with only one of her hands. Then she yanked forward, causing Szayelaporro to be wrenched towards her violently. He screamed in surprise as Dominique stabbed Zangetsu into the ground.

_'Holy crap...'. _She punched the crap out of him with her bare fist. His whole body rippled and then he shot off towards the wall, smashing into it with a thunderous crash. Dominique wobbled again and straitened back up with a crazed smile on her face again.

"Idiot beat down it is then"! She said as she began to run at Szayelaporro. She ran at an incredible speed, almost as fast as if she were using shunpo, but she wasn't using any reiatsu, so she couldn't be. Then she cocked her right fist into the air and brought it down on the clone as he tried to dislodge himself from the cave wall. This time the punch not only rippled through him, but also caused a huge crater to begin forming in the wall. The whole wall face that she'd punched into seemed to cave inward an was left as almost a second room to this one.

I felt my jaw drop, I also managed to see that Rukia's jaw had dropped forward as well in shock. Then she began to simultaneously pummel him deeper into the wall while laughing maniacally.

Then she stopped while holding onto the bleeding clone's face. This one didn't disperse like the other clones, but instead took the beatings. Maybe this was the original clone or something. She pulled his head back before shoving him back into the rock, smashing him into it and grinding his face into the stone and crystal.

"HURTS DOESN'T IT! WELL WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE YOUR CREATOR IS GONNA GET EVEN WORSE TREATMENT THAN YOU ARE! I'LL MAKE SURE THAT HE CRIES TEARS OF BLOOD BY THE TIME I'M THROUGH WITH HIM! BY THE TIME I'M DONE, THERE WILL BE NOTHING LEFT"! Dominique screamed at him as she tossed him into the air before leaping into the air herself. She lifted her foot into the air in a high flying drop kick.

As her foot collided with the clone he shot to the ground, creating another crater, before she landed on the ground herself, making the crater expand at least four times its original size.

When the dust cloud cleared, all that was left of the clone was a mass of pink and black goo that twitched. Then Dominique turned sharply away from the hollow before wobbling towards the bright green bubble in the center of the room. She raised her hand in the air before crashing her fist into the bubble, causing a crashing sound to reverberate through the room.

"Dominique! What in the world are you doing"?! I yelled at her as I ran over to her. She pulled back and punched the bubble this time, causing a large crack to form in the bubble. She turned back to look at me, and I saw that her eyes were no longer silver, but were darkening to blue again.

"Don't worry Ichigo! I got this"! She said as she punched the bubble again, causing the bubble to explode and reiatsu to surge into the room like a dark green wave. It was so strong that it forced me to my knees. Dominique had been thrown back harshly, and was on her back, which caused her to cry out in pain. I also saw that Rukia, who'd followed me to stop Dominique, had been forced completely on her stomach from the weight of the reiatsu.

When the reiatsu wave dispersed I saw that the girl in the bubble was on her knees on the ground, her head slumped forward. But then her hair began to float around her, as if she were under water and she seemed to float to her feet. Her head lifted and her eyes opened to show a pair of black and gold eyes without pupils, giving her a faraway look.

Her expression was blank of any emotion but when she looked at Dominique, I could have seen something like recognition flit across her face before it disappeared into blank emptiness again. Her lips parted and a slow, delicate sounding voice came from her.

"What...is...this"? She said very slowly. As if she had trouble speaking. Dominique managed to stand up and look at her friend Bree, or at least, what was left of her friend, in her face.

"Bree. It's me, Dominique. Do you remember me"? She asked her, as her movements began to steady, showing that the pill she'd used earlier was wearing off. Sweat began to run down her face as pain was registering with her away, and her back was bleeding heavily again.

"Dominique...friend...lost...long...time...lost... hurt"? The last word she said as a question. Her head cocking to the side just millimeters. Her hand reached out to Dominique, her claws dripping some sort of green liquid that seemed like acid. Dominique cringed as Bree's claws moved towards Dominique's back. Bree was taller than her, probably just as tall as I was now that I could see her fully.

The green fluid dripped from her claws and onto Dominique's back. It seemed to sizzle as if it was burning her, and Dominique cried out, confirming what I'd thought to be true. But when I tried to stop her, the skin on Dominique's back closed up, the green fluid, although looking like it was burning the skin, was actually healing it.

"Help...friend...helped...me...thank...you". Bree's facial expression changed from blank confusion to a smile that still seemed like she was not all the way there. Dominique thanked her with a grateful smile on her face.

"Bree, can you get us out of your inner world, and can you get rid of all the poison that Szayelaporro put in here"? She asked while pointing to the still withering mass of pink and black goo. Bree looked over at the goo and her expression turned dark. Her hand raised up and a katana with a green hilt guard appeared in her hand. She walked forward to the mass of withering goo on the floor before driving her zanpakuto into the mass.

A high pitched scream echoed off the cavern walls and faded away as the black goo seemed to melt and evaporate. Then Bree looked back at Dominique.

"How...long...been...like...this"? She asked.

"Around fifty years according to your inner hollow Freya". At the mention of her inner hollow, her eyes softened, seeming to fill with life as time went by.

"Thank...you. Will...take...time...to...heal...though. Poison...is...deep...but...Freya...will...help...h eal. I...now...send...you...back". She said as she sheathed her zanpakuto into a black sheath that materialized on her belt.

She reached towards Rukia first, and a bright green light glowed in the palm of her clawed hand before flying towards Rukia. The light hit Rukia before expanding outward and causing Rukia to disappear. Then she pointed her hand at me and then the light came at me. When it hit me, warmth filled my whole body, and I felt suddenly sleepy as I was sent out of her inner world as well.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

I was the last one left as Bree sent the other two out first. She paused before she pointed her hand at me though. She walked up to me and lifted the collar of her shirt away from her neck showing a silver necklace that had a green flip-flop on it that said the word best. I recognized it. It was a part of the set of necklaces that Emma, Bree and I'd gotten from a gift shop at Hilton Head island on a field trip two years ago.

It was the last field trip of the year and my first summer as a Squad 0 section leader. The set said Best Friends Forever in the colors blue, red, and green. I of course got blue, Emma; red, and Bree got green. For the summer we wore them every day. Then one day my chain on my necklace broke and I attached it to my wallet so I would always have it on me.

Emma's chain also broke and she put hers on her keychain set that she always carried with her to annoy the hell out of everybody with its constant chinging noise. Only Bree's ever remained unbroken. And even after all this time, she still has it. I smiled at her and she smiled back at me before moving forward to hug me tightly.

"Missed...my friends...never forgot anyone. Even...if they...made...you...forget". She said quietly. She pulled back to look at me and I saw tears dripping down her face, but a smile on it as well. I leaned forward and hugged her back.

"It's okay Bree. No matter what, I've got your back. You hear? Cause that's what friends are for". I smiled at her encouragingly as she raised her hand up to me. The green light glowed from her palm and then shot at me. I felt myself become sleepy and I faded to black as I was dragged from her inner world.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

When my eyes opened again I saw Ichigo and Rukia beginning to stand up and brush themselves off from the sand that clung to their bodies. I saw that both Ichigo and I were still in our bankai forms out here, even though my energy was majorly depleted. I pulled out a small handheld watch from my hakama pocket and saw that we'd only been gone from the rest of the group for about an hour or so. Which meant that they wouldn't even have gotten to the exit of the Menos Forest yet.

I looked up at Bree who was looking around, taking in her surroundings, but still not all the way there. The flames on her back began to dim until they went out completely before her whole body burst into a bright green flame, causing Ichigo, Rukia, and myself to jump back in surprise. The flames completely covered her and blocked our view from her until I saw the flames beginning to shrink.

When they finished shrinking, the flames were only going to about the height of my knees and then they dispersed, leaving what looked like a younger version of the huge serpent wolf from earlier.

Her head was rounder and looked like a ball almost with a small black horn sticking from the forehead and gold eyes that looked at me blankly. Her body was small and dark green with patches of greenish blue poison still inside the body, but it seemed to be on its way out, so that meant that she was in fact, healing herself. An adorable whining sound came from her mouth as she looked up at me cutely.

"Awwe! You're so adorable like that"! I squealed as I moved to pick her up like a puppy. She weighed almost nothing and as soon as she was off the ground her reiatsu became light and happy feeling. Rukia was looking at her too with a look of adoration at her cuteness.

"She's so cute! Like a stuffed animal". Rukia said cheerily. Her paws rested on my shoulder and her tail moved slowly from side to side, almost like a cat's would when they were content. A blank look still remained in her eyes, but at least she was aware now, but she didn't seem to be able to speak. If it was hard for her to speak in her inner world, then it must be nearly impossible for her in the real world.

That was when I remembered that we had to get moving.

_'Shiva'?_ I mentally called.

_"Shuddap. I wanna sleep for the next hour, so you better not get into any fights or so help me, I'll kick your ass myself'!_ She yelled at me. I giggled at her aggravated tone and looked at Ichigo.

"How's Hichigo"? I asked him. His eyes glazed over for an instant before he answered.

"Fine, but pissed". I laughed.

"Same with Shiva. Well we better get moving. The others got a huge head start and we gotta get moving too". I told them as I put Bree on my shoulder. I felt that I couldn't leave her here, in case Aizen came after her again. I did a quick scan of my remaining energy and felt that even though we'd been in Bree's inner world, my gentei reiin was released, even out here. I quickly sealed it up and felt the drain on my power immediately.

I staggered and felt the hunger roar up in me again. Even though it had been less than two hours ago, my body was telling me that it needed to eat again to replace the energy it had lost while in Bree's inner world. If I didn't eat something soon, my sanity would begin to slip into my hollow instincts.

I couldn't take another one of those pills because it wouldn't do anything to restore my reiatsu, all it did was increase muscle strength and speed, not to mention made me loopy as hell. I couldn't even remember what I'd been saying after I ate that pill. I remember the images, but everything was blurry and dull, as if I were seeing it in an old black and white movie that had been damaged.

I needed to eat, and from the feel of Ichigo's reiatsu, so did he. I had the strong desire to devour another menos grande, but with Rukia here, I couldn't do that. A soul reaper, near two hunger driven shadow shinigami in the middle of a meal = DESSERT FOR THE SHADOW SHINIGAMI!

_'Not a good idea'._ I thought to myself snidely. That's how bad the hunger could get. We could end up turning on our own friend just because she isn't a shadow shinigami. Our inner darkness did not care, nor was it picky about what it ate as long as it ate something. We'd have to hold out until we could get away from the others again.

"Let's move. We've got to hurry if we intend to meet up with the others before they reach the exit". I say as I leap up into the air and onto one of the higher up branches of a quartz tree. Rukia and Ichigo quickly followed me and we began to leap from branch to branch. Ichigo and I couldn't fly through the masses of trees since Rukia was with us so we had to go the ninja way.

Ichigo ran beside me while Rukia was a few paces behind us and Bree continued to rest on my shoulder. She just hung there like a tired kitten that was too lazy to get down. At the rate that we were going we would meet up with the others in twenty minutes or so.

I stopped. The others, not expecting me to stop so suddenly, nearly crashed into me, but I didn't pay them much attention. I lifted my nose into the air and took a deep breath through my nose, taking in the scents around me.

I smelled another soul reaper. A familiar one at that. Just as I recognized the scent a black and brown blur landed in front of us on another branch. It was the soul reaper, wearing a highly worn shihakusho and hakama, and a pelt of fur that was covered in several hollows' mask all over it. His face was also covered with a hollow mask, but I knew who it was right away.

"Hello again Ashido". I said as the soul reaper took off his hollow mask to show a man with black hair and extremely hardened facial features looking at us.

"You are again..."? He said. Well he'd only met me once and it was for ten minutes when I was training here with Rose last year. Ichigo and Rukia though were unsure how to take in the situation.

"Dominique Kudo. Rose's trainee and Squad 0 member". He looked at me with the same expression and nodded.

"Who is this guy Dominique"? Rukia asked.

"This is Ashido. Yes, he's a soul reaper. He's also an ally of Squad 0". I then got to explaining about how he and his team were sent here on a mission once when he was still a Thirteen Court Guard Squad member. All of his comrades died, leaving him as the only one alive. He didn't know of a way to get back to the Soul Society, so he vowed that as long as he stayed here, he would fight the hollows.

Though Squad 0 eventually found him and offered him a way back to the Soul Society. By that time though, he'd grown on this place and chose to stay here. Squad 0 helped him out every now and again, and he helped us out too. There was even a rumor about how he once joined up with the Vasto Lorde Squad once to deal with a pack of rogue vasto lordes.

I'd never heard that rumor confirmed though so I wasn't sure. When I'd met him last year, he seemed like he despised all hollows, and didn't have much of a liking for shadow shinigami, even though he tolerated our help. Once he was even offered a position in Squad 0, but he denied it to remain here. He's considered a loner by Squad 0 standards since he never leaves the menos forest.

_'I wonder if he even knows about Aizen's betrayal to the Soul Society'._ I thought to myself.

"Are you heading towards the Northwest exit"? Ashido asked. I nodded.

"Yes. Me and my group of friends are here to save a friend who was captured by the arrancars". I didn't mention Aizen, in case he doesn't know about his betrayal. Ashido nodded and turned his back on us.

"I will escort you then. Beyond here is a hideout for a group of adjhuchas so we will maneuver around them". He said as he began leaping through the trees. I nodded and began following him with Rukia and Ichigo beside me. After about fifteen minutes we found our friends walking on the ground in the direction of the exit. We were still about another fifteen minutes away, and that was the fast pace.

_'Wow these guys are going slow today'._ I thought to myself with a sweat drop. Ashido stopped on a tree branch above the group before turning to look back at us.

"This is as far as I go". He said.

"Thanks Ashido. See ya". I said as he leaped away back where we came.

"Well that was definitely an unusual time". Ichigo said with a sigh as he scratched the back of his head. I snickered at him.

"Yeah, and just think, we haven't even gotten to Las Noches yet". I said as Rukia rolled her eyes at us.

"You shadow shinigami sure do attract weird shit". She said as she leaped towards the ground. Both Ichigo and I snickered as we leaped after her. When the three of us landed everybody began talking at once. I just sort of tuned them out for Rukia to deal with while I walked over to Nami and Kyle to ask what happened on their end and to tell them what happened on ours.

After we traded reports I sighed. Well at least we weren't the only ones who got to have fun. I then counted the numbers in our group. There were a total of sixteen people in our group including Bree now with the hollows and Nel. After the rest of the gang were informed we began to head towards the exit at a swifter pace than what they'd been going earlier. We'd finally gotten back on track to rescuing Orihime.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Yay we finally made it"! I said excitedly as I leaped off of Bawabawa. After all that weirdness earlier, it was good to get back on track, and thankfully we hadn't encountered any more problems on the way to Las Noches. Rukia walked up the white stone wall that made up Las Noches. She put her hand on it experimentally.

"It doesn't appear to be made of sekki seki". She said as if to herself. I smirked and drew my Zangetsu. I looked and saw that Renji and Ichigo had done the same as me.

"Well if it isn't sekki seki, then we can bust right through it"! Ichigo said excitedly. I looked over at the two of them.

"Let's do this boys". I said smugly. Renji scoffed at me.

"Hey! You're not in charge here"! He countered as he called his Zabimaru. I smirked since there was no real bite to it.

"Getsugatensho".

"Getsugatensho"!

"Roar, Zabimaru"!

The three of us called our blades and created a huge hole in the wall. I immediately felt a cool breeze flowing from the inside so that meant we got through. That was easy.

"Did we get through"? Ichigo asked.

"Think so. I feel a breeze". Renji said as he peered into the darkness.

"Why did you guys do that! The entrance is only a three day's walk away"! Nel said as if what we just did was totally uncalled for. I sweat dropped at her.

_'__**Only**__ three days. Sheesh'._ I thought to myself. I sighed and crouched down by her as the now chibified Bree in her ressurection was nuzzling against her leg absently like a tired puppy. After we'd joined up with the rest of the group, Nel had surprised everybody by saying that she knew Bree. But she knew her only in her ressurection state. She called Bree: Freefree. I'm guessing as a combination of Bree and her inner hollow Freya.

"Nel, we aren't visitors here. We're intruders who are trying to rescue our friend. We don't have three days to waste to get her and we can't just walk in the front door. We'd all die for sure if we did that". I explained to her as I patted the skull mask on her head gently. Ichigo then spoke up.

"Nel. Thanks for bringing us here. But if you stay with us any longer you'll be in danger. This is goodbye". He said kindly.

"Be safe Nel". I said as I kissed her on her forehead where her scar was. She felt like a little sister to me and I treated her as such. Our group then began to run into the giant hole that Ichigo, Renji and I created, leaving Nel, her group, and Bree behind. I knew Bree would be safe with them. After all, she's been here so long and nothing had truly harmed her besides that damned espada Szayelaporro whom I swore to get back for what he'd done to her.

Besides, if Bree did come with us, she might get hurt, even if Freya had said that her body was immortal. I also didn't want Aizen to have a chance to get at her again.

"See ya"! Mimie called out as she followed beside me with a smile on her face. Then again, she never seemed to lose the smile on her face. It wasn't just that super happy all the time smile either this time, but a knowing smile that made you think that she knew you deepest secrets. That was when I heard Nel chasing after us.

"Wait! We became traitor the minute Runuganga found us, maybe even before then! Lord Aizen may have known from the start! He'll never forgive us! And even if he did, the espada's wouldn't! You have to take us with you or we'll be killed! If you don't I'll cry! WHAAAAA"! She began blubbering like a two year old who got told she couldn't get a toy from the store. I stopped and looked back at her with a sweat drop on my face.

_'Wow ... this kid's got a set of lungs on her huh'._ Shiva commented, finally waking up and back to her commentary ways.

"Ichigo, you meanie! Carrot Top! Doo doo head"! Ichigo tried to cut her off now that he'd also stopped and was standing beside me. I thought it was hilarious that she was only saying bad things about him.

"Alright, alright stop crying already"! He tried to placate her but apparently it didn't work.

"Stinky breath"!

"Hey that's not true"! He interjected.

"What's all the yelling about"? Rukia asked as she stepped up beside me. I looked at her with a smirk on my face that was quickly wiped off with what Nel said next.

"VIRGIN"! I blushed at that and Ichigo did as well. And that was when Mimie spoke up.

"Noooooo he isn't.~ Him and Dominique go at it like bunnies in heat every day"! She said with a bright smile on her face. Everyone just stopped and stared at her in shock while Ichigo and I were blushing like mad. Both of us were redder than Renji's hair.

"Really"!? Rukia asked as she looked between Ichigo and I. A smug look appearing on her face as if she'd known all along. I looked away with a glare on my face.

"We've only done it twice"! I barked embarrassingly. Mimie then looked at us with surprise on her face.

"Really?! I was just kidding! But it looks like I was right! Whoo"! She said as she held her hands behind her head with a triumphant smile on her face. I deadpanned at her and groaned that I'd just let everyone know Ichigo's and my personal life. I face palmed myself and Ichigo was still blushing like mad as Renji picked fun at him.

"Hehe, looks like you finally grew a pair and got together". He said as if it was obvious. Ichigo glared at him.

"For your information, Dominique and I've been together since before we even went to the Soul Society. And furthermore, when are you gonna grow a some balls and get with Rukia". Ichigo said as he glared at Renji with a devilish smirk on his face. I perked up at that.

"Yeah! You two've known each other for forever and a day, and yet you two are still denying your feelings for each other. At least Ichigo and I can say that we didn't waste no time"! I said proudly as the two soul reapers in question both began blushing like mad now that the embarrassing conversation had turned to them.

"Uh...um". They were both at a loss for words.

"You see...". The two of them stammered as Ichigo and I were looking at them with evil grins on their faces. That was when I got serious and turned back to where we needed to go.

"We need to get moving again guys. We can't afford any more delays". I said as I began running forward with the rest of the group running close behind me. Ichigo, Renji, Kyle, and Nami were at my flanks while the rest of the group hung a bit back with Nel, her group, and Bree in the center for protection incase anything came at us from either way. Renji and Rukia still had deep blushes on their faces, but I had to say I wasn't much better off, and neither was Ichigo.

It was really dark in this tunnel. I couldn't see two feet in front of my face. I decided to use a kido, but then Ichigo said something before I could say anything.

"Man this wall sure is thick. Just how far does this tunnel go anyway. Not to mention it's so pitch black that you can't see two feet in front of you". He was right. Even with my excellent night vision I couldn't see very far ahead of me, and it was probably worse for the rest of them. Then Renji spoke up.

"No problem. I'll take care of it". He said as he held out his hand in front of him. I could sense that he was about to use a kido, but I was curious to see which one he'd try so I stayed silent.

"What're you gonna do"? Ichigo asked him from beside me.

"Just shut up and watch. With a little creativity, kido can do some pretty amazing things. Hado 31, Shakkaho"! He called as a decent sized explosion covered his arms. When the smoke cleared a tiny red light glowed in his hand, casting a tiny amount of reddish light on us. I snickered at him as Uryu came up to run beside him, obviously about to taunt him.

"Wow. What an incredibly small light. And here I thought you were gonna show off". He said as he fell back to the back of the pack. Rukia then decided to speak up.

"Fool! That's what you get for trying to do a Eishohaki you haven't mastered". She taunted. I giggled at him.

"That's okay. That red hair of yours will light the way. How's that old song go again, something about Rudolph". Ichigo said while clapping Renji on the shoulder. Renji looked like he was about to die from the embarrassment. I snickered before running ahead of him while singing the tune of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer tauntingly but with Renji's name instead.

_Renji the red haired soul reaper~_

_Had such bright spiky red hair~_

_And if you ever saw it~_

_You would swear~ _

_. . ._

_that it was a pineapple!_

I sang cheerily even though it didn't rhyme. I stopped though with the death glare from Renji, but also noticing the poorly suppressed look of smug glee on Ichigo's face.

"Ichigo you don't have much to say either. Your hair looks like an orange flame". I said just as cheerily, causing Ichigo to growl at me before his face turned into a leer that I suddenly felt wary of. For a second there he looked like those times when Hichigo, when he was still Shirozangetsu, would say act perverted, complete with a hollow-like smile and all. I looked away with a blush on my face before holding my right hand in front of me.

"Bakudo 10, Kitsunebi Tōrō (Fox fire lantern)". I said as a bright blue flame flickered to life in my hand, covering everything in its ghostly light. I then cupped my left hand around the flame, covering us all in darkness again before spreading my arms out fully, leaving ten blue fireballs floating in front of me. I then pointed up and forward, causing the ten flames to move ahead of me and light the way.

Everyone was silent as I showed off my kido. It was one of the kido's that I'd enjoyed using even though it was only for lighting the way in a dark place. I'd decided to learn it after the last Moon Festival almost two years ago.

I continued to manipulate the kido as we ran forward. As we ran I would pull the flames that we passed and move them ahead of us to continue to light the way. Soon we exited the tunnel and came to a dark room. I spread the flames out and sent them high into the air only for a number of natural fires to start up on the walls of the room.

The room was lined with five doorways...well now six thanks to the hole that we made.

"A crossroad". Uryu said seriously. I snapped my fingers and released the kido, the blue flames fizzling out of existence.

"Now what"? Renji said, having finally gotten over his embarrassment from earlier. As soon as he finished saying that a heavy wave of reiatsu surged through the room from the direction of the five doorways.

"Nel...I think it's really time to say bye now. I doubt you'll be able to handle the reiatsu beyond here". Ichigo said as he smirked darkly towards the doorways. I nodded. If it was already this strong here and we only just got in, then they wouldn't be able to handle the reiatsu density when the real fighting began.

"We'll have to try them all". Nami said as she looked at the different doorways. I shook my head. This was a different situation than before. So now we had different options to use.

"No. That'll take too long. There are enough of us so we'll split up into teams. As a big group, we're easy to track, so as a number of smaller packs, they'll have a harder time keeping up with all of us". I explained to the group. From Ichigo and the group that came with me, to Renji and Rukia, and to Kyle and her group. Rukia looked up at me with determination in her eyes.

"Okay then. How should the teams be set up then"? She asked, a challenging tone in her voice. This was a situation that my section leader training really came in handy.

I thought about how the people who would work well with each other and who would support each other's strengths and weaknesses the best. Thanks to my training as a section leader and all of the various simulations and real life missions with my usual gang and the section I'd originally belonged to when I first joined Squad 0, I was used to making these sort of decisions.

"Well"? Renji asked, impatient as usual. I felt the need to smack him on the back of the head, but I decided to wait until after all this was over since we were all about to go into battle and he needed all the brain cells he could spare for this.

"The first team is Ichigo and Selena. Then it's Rukia, Nami, and me. Then Renji and Kyle. Then Chad and Mimie, and finally Uryu and Ciera". I said calmly as the others looked at their new fighting partners. I could see a bit of disappointment in Ichigo's face since I didn't pair myself up with him, but I wanted to keep an eye on Nami and the best matchup was with Rukia.

Nami was a speed type expert, Rukia was a kido expert and I was a zanjutsu expert so we'd have the upper hand in most situations. Unfortunately we didn't have enough people for five three man cells so we would have to make due. I would be the only one who would be able to bring Nami back if she used her bankai again and lost it and Rukia could watch my back if needed, so that was why we had the only three man cell.

The rest of the teams were based on opposites. Both in personalities and styles of fighting so they would work well together and have each other's backs in their fights. Each of them nodded to me as they moved to stand with their battle partners. Then Renji spoke up.

"All right! But let's do a little ritual before we go"! Renji said as he stepped forward. The rest of us looked at him in confusion.

"Ritual"? Ichigo asked.

"Yeah. It's an old tradition that the Thirteen Court Guard Squads used to do before a big battle, but nobody really does it anymore. I thought this might be a good time to revive the tradition". He said as he held out his right hand. I decided to speak up at that.

"We shadow shinigami have a ritual of our own". I said while looking at Ichigo who looked at me questioningly.

"We do"? He asked. Of course he wouldn't know about it. He hadn't been in the Academy's history class yet.

"Yep. But we'll do it after Renji said his since this is a mixed group of fighters. Take it away Pineapple Head". I said with a smirk to Renji who was glaring at me slightly.

This was definitely a first. This sort of thing had never happened before in Squad 0 history. Not only were shadow shinigami and soul reapers fighting side by side on a friendly basis for the first time outside of Squad 14, but we also had a multitude of other beings that were thrown into the mix, showing that the different species could actually get along.

"Fine... Everybody hold out your hands". He said. Everyone looked at him weirdly and I snickered.

_'Today is just not his day'._ Shiva commented with chuckle.

"Don't look at me like that! I'm already embarrassed enough"! He said as he held his right hand out. The rest of us moved to stand beside our battle partners before adding our own hands to the center. It was a tight fit with so many people, but we managed to have all the hands in.

"As we approach the crucial battleground! Believe that our blades will not break! Believe that our resolve will not bend! Though the roads we take may diverge, our iron hearts will beat as one! Swear, that the Earth itself should tear asunder, we will come back here alive"! He yelled out before I began the ritual that was spoken when a major battle was fought in the past.

"We stand here now, the calm before the storm! Our blades sharp and our bodies ready for battle! Swear that as we depart our separate ways, that our strength will not waver, and our hearts remain true! Through the chaos we will stand, we will fight, we will win! Blood that binds, shadows that guide, and hearts that beat as one. Swear upon your souls that we will all live to see the night together once more"! I called out with my section leader's voice as we all shoved our hands down and turned to the five doorways.

As everyone turned their backs to the others, we all went our separate ways. Nami, Rukia and I shot through the doorway to the far right and onto the battlefield.

Me: Well guys, another chapter done. Again sorry it's late. Once again Bree's part was hard! Her character author kept giving her all these different powers. There were so many that it was ridiculous. I had to get rid of almost all of the stuff she told me. There were a few things I added though for the sake of the storyline but then again I'm the author for this story and she kept giving me stuff that didn't even deal with the story. Oh and hoped you guys enjoyed finding a bit more about some of the other characters!

Shiva: Yawn~!

Me: What?

Shiva: Bored...

Me: Pokémon?

Shiva: X and Y?

Me: YES! Spoilers for Pokémon fans!

Shiva: Diagonal movement and a new type of Pokémon!

Me: Fairy type!

Shiva: It's super effective against dragon types.

Me: Kind of lame though. Fairy, why couldn't they call it Light or something cooler. Maybe that'll be saved for the next one that'll be out within the next two years cause you know they'll never stop doing Pokémon. It's way too popular.

Shiva: Yeah. But it's fairy type so we gots to deal with it.

Me: Yep. Well sayonara for now guys! Until the next chappie!

Shiva: REVIEW PWEASE!

Me: ...Seriously...

Shiva: Shut up.

Dominique: Both of you shut up! I have a major headache because you made me take that damn pill! I cannot believe you made me act like Black Blood Maka from Soul Eater! (Bashes them both on the head with the Hammer of Doom)

Shiva and Me: ...(both sit in the emo corner with bleeding foreheads)

Dominique: Finally.

Antidote by...I have no clue hehe.

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	32. Friends Among The Enemy

Me: Sorry it's two days late guys. One of my brothers had a doctor's appointment the other day and I couldn't get acsess to a computer. I hope you guys here enjoy this chapter. I've gotten a ton of reviews since the last chapter and they made me so happy. I own nothing as you already know. Oh and a heads up, I'm going to be working on several new projects. I'm going to be taking down Bleach Oc Insanity Crew here on Fanfiction, although if you have idea's for good tortures for the characters, PM me, or leave them in a review if you don't have an account on here. I'm still going to be doing Bleach Oc Insanity Crew Truth or Dare on . And also I plan on working on a sort of prequel to this story, but it focusses on Dominique's training days in Squad 0 and also storylines for the other Oc's. And for the last thing, I will be working on a pokemon fanfiction. It should be up on Fanfiction within the next month or so so if you like pokemon, check it out. Anywho...here are the awesome people who reviewed on the last chapter and beyond, and some special recognition for those who deserve it.

Adrian92- Thanks so much for your review. It's that sort of praise and encouragement that gets me to the computer to write these stories. Thanks! 3

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark- Thank you for reviews for almost every single chapter! The fact that you took the time to even review instead of just reading though the story really showed me that you really enjoyed my story. And thanks for the awesome Oc idea. I so plan to use him in a story later on.

ultima-owner- Man, you've been following this story since nearly the beginning, and you've reviewed every single chapter since. Thanks for your support.

Scaehime-KingofKing's Daughter- Thanks for your reviews. Your imput and compliments on the story were very heartwarming.

drmona lord- Another awesome reviewer and also a fellow author. You've been here just as long as ultima-owner and also created the Oc Kyle. You rock!

TheTygersSereneChaos- I love your reviews! They always make me laugh. I've been combating the monster of cliff hangers because of you! But I shall continue to leave them cause they are fun to do. Hehe, and all that monster will get is a mouth full of socks.

Thunder Claw03- Loved your reviews because of your questions. Even though I don't care to do spoilers, well, there will be lots of laughs and Masaki will return. I won't say when though! **;D**

pinkrose1122- Even though you haven't reviewed in forever, Rose and Sero is still a major part in the story. It's thanks to you I've gotten this far and thanks to you that this Squad 0 even exist the way it does. Thanks girl!

shimigamix- Another awesome reviewer who's been there since nearly the beginning. 5 Hoshi shirushi subete araundo to you too dude! **:D**

IdentifiedLuna1998- Thanks for your Oc's Hinami and Luna. And thanks so much for allowing me to join Bleach Oc Insanity.

Me: Thanks a lot guys! You guys have really made this story possible. Yall rock! And I give you all the cookies, fudge, skittles, smarties, chocolate, pie, and cake you can eat. Now on with the story!

**Chapter 32: Friends Among The Enemy**

Ulquiorra's POV

After telling that woman, Orihime Inoue about her friends coming to Hueco Mundo to rescue her and seeing her reaction to it, I had to admit that she was a brave person. After asking that question of where her loyalties lied, she'd only hesitated an instant before answering. She didn't even bat an eye at the question. She was strange for a human.

"Hey, how'd it go? How's our little pet doing". A voice said as an unwelcome face appeared from around a corner.

"Nnoitora". I acknowledged the fifth espada neutrally. He sneered at me with his unusually long teeth.

"I know all about it. How Lord Aizen put you in charge of her. How tempting. So...how's the discipline going"? He said with a hungry look in his eyes. I knew that if I was not here now he would go after her and would violate her. He'd done so to many of the female arrancars here in Las Noches. I looked away though and began walking down the hallway towards the kitchens to get a servant arrancar to prepare the woman's meal.

"Jackal". I said under my breath, knowing that he'd hear. It was an unspoken message that if he were to harm her and therefore cause me to go against my orders from Lord Aizen, then he would die. But there was something else there...underlying the surface of my mind. Something unfamiliar...I brushed it aside as Nnoitora moved to stand in front of me. His hand landed on the wall, causing a small crater to form there as he leaned over me with his freakish height.

"Awwe, don't be like that. I just wanted to know if everything was going well. Is it"? He asked as he leaned slightly closer in, as if to hear some secret.

"Are you curious...or frightened"? I said as I looked up at him. I felt that I needed to keep his attention on me and away from the woman. His smile faded and he glared his narrowed eyes at me.

"What"? He said darkly. I then walked around him and continued to the kitchen.

"Don't worry. The woman was in lord Aizen's power before she even got here". I said neutrally. I heard Nnoitora pause, thinking of how that could be done.

"He used Kyokasuigetsu"? He asked. I could feel the slightest twinge of fear from him at the mention of Lord Aizen's zanpakuto.

"Please. There was no need for that. When we invited her here, we placed her within a multilayered psychic cage. We told her that her friends would die if she resisted. Then gave her a twelve hour furlough, and allowed her to say a silent goodbye to one of her friends". I told him, explaining Lord Aizen's plan to him.

"That was your cage"? He asked, not believing me. I stopped and turned back to face him. He was no longer smiling, but had a confused look on his face.

"By giving her time on her own when she was in a state of terror, and letting her say goodbye to a friend, we led her to believe that we were sympathetic to her, which weakened her will. The furlough was actually a way to confuse her facilities. By allowing her to move on her own, we gave the impression that she was acting of her own free will and in fact betrayed them. And by allowing her to return to the rendezvous on her own, that illusion was deeply imbedded into her psyche. Her will to escape was shattered. And when she said her silent goodbye, a trace of her reiatsu remained". I explained to him the details of the plan. He still didn't look convinced though.

"So what? Wasn't that a mistake then"? He asked seriously.

"Quite the opposite. That vestige of her departure proved that she had freedom of movement and thought until the moment of surrender. Because of that, the trace of her presence that she left behind made her seem like she betrayed them voluntarily. So it's safe to say that the Soul Society has abandoned her". I said to him. He smirked at me.

"Such painstaking planning. Lord Aizen is quite the genius". He said with a dark sneer on his face.

"Painstaking? To Lord Aizen this was simply a game. If it worked then fine, if it didn't then so be it. Nonetheless, the woman hasn't got the will to escape...or even to resent us". I explained to him while turning back to get to the kitchen. I left Nnoitora there in the hallway, knowing he would do nothing to the girl now that he knows that Lord Aizen had such an interest in the woman.

But for some odd reason...I felt the strangest sense of relief. I shook it of mentally and continued to my next destination.

Orihime's POV

I sat in the room that the espada Ulquiorra had placed me in. After he'd left I felt so relieved that I'd been able to keep a straight face when I lied to him earlier. I hadn't been expecting my friends to come here to rescue me though, and that had thrown me for a loop for a moment. But then I knew somewhere deep in my heart though that they would eventually come for me.

I could sense them now in fact. There was Dominique, Ichigo, Nami, Chad, Uryu, Renji, and Rukia, as well as other people there who I didn't recognize. When I'd come here, I'd hoped to give them time to prepare for the final battle, but now that they were here, they'd brought the fight with them.

Then there was the incident when Aizen had shown me the Hogyoku. He'd said that he'd trusted me enough to show me it, but I knew that was a lie. I knew where it was though at least, and now that I really knew what my powers were I knew what I had to do.

_'The phenomenon I have to destroy is the Hogyoku'._ I told myself determinately in my head. I would find a way to help my friends, even though Urahara had told me to stay off the front lines. I would do as Dominique once told me to do.

I would follow my heart.

Ichigo's POV

As everybody separated I ran down the center hallway with the girl Selena from Kyle's gang a few feet behind me. As we ran she was completely silent, so it was almost as if I was running alone. It felt a bit awkward on my part, but I made no move to alleviate the awkwardness. About five minutes of running passed before I heard another person running behind us.

The first thing that came to mind was an enemy, but when I turned back, Nel was running after us.

"ITSYGO"! She wailed as she ran after us.

"NEL"?! I yelled as I saw the tiny arrancar blubbering as she ran almost as fast as we were going, "What're you doing here?! Go back"! I yelled at her.

"Itsygo I missed you"!

"Are you even listening to me"?! I yelled at her before I stopped to turn around, "That's it. I'll send you packing myself"! I said as Selena moved off to the side quickly before stopping. I raised my hands to grab her and to toss her back in the direction she came. But then I felt her use sonido and suddenly her head made contact with my stomach.

"WHOOF"! I wheezed as she sent the two of us crashing into the floor and knocking the air from my lungs. After that she continued to cry into my chest that she missed me while I glared at her. Then I glared at Selena.

"Thanks oh so much for the help". I said to her scathingly. She looked at me blankly while shrugging her shoulders.

"She wanted you. Who am I to try and stop a young arrancar from getting what she wants. I don't have a death wish after all". I continued to glare at her.

"Oh and if she thought your bright purple hair was candy and wanted to eat it, would you let her"? I countered with a sneer. She glared at me before huffing and continuing to walk down the hallway. I stood up and dusted myself off. That was when I noticed that someone else was following us, and it wasn't a friendly reiatsu either. I quickly pushed Nel behind me to protect her and Selena moved back and closer to us to keep Nel in the center and out of danger.

Nel looked up at me with a scared look on her face as I turned towards where we came from with a glare on my face. I quickly threw out my senses and felt that it was definitely an arrancar, but it seemed to be hiding its reiatsu well and I couldn't tell if it was an espada or not. Nel spoke up.

"Itsygo, what's going on"? She asked.

"Quiet down". I said to her. I didn't need to have her distract me, "Whoever you are, show yourself! You can't get away from me"! I yelled up into the rafters as the arrancar took off ahead of us.

"Hmph. Who's running away?!"? The male voice said as he looked back towards us. Just as he did that, he misplaced his footing and fell to the floor, hard. The three of us stared at him with blank looks on our faces.

"Uhh...you okay dude"? I asked the fallen arrancar as the dust that had been spread through the air began to clear. Then suddenly a hand pointed towards us from the dust cloud.

"Da daa! Dun da! Koff, koff! Dun dun da daaan! Hey"! The man said as he struck a pose as if he'd just made some grand entrance. I looked at him blankly, not really believing what I was seeing here. I'd seen some weird arrancars, but this one was the weirdest yet. He looked at Nel who was sitting on my shoulder now and myself as we looked blankly at him. His face turned to one of surprised anger.

"Hey you! What's with your faces"!? He demanded.

"Well...uh". I began to say before he interrupted me.

"What's that look for"?! I sighed.

"I heard you the first time". I said quietly.

"You witnessed Dordoni's grand entrance and yet-"! I cut him off with a blank look still on my face.

"Grand? You fell on your face". I told him. He looked at me like I'd just insulted him.

"You feign composure"!

"I'm not pretending, I actually don't care". I said to him blankly.

"Alright, but what about the kid on your shoulder, and the girl behind you!? Neither of them are even looking at me"! Selena, at the mention of her, snickered darkly.

"You act like a desperate clown". She sneered, causing him to freak out before he calmed down. Then he looked like he knew something we didn't.

"Well it appears that you have no appreciation for the finer things. It does not matter though for you are about to be destroyed. Now brace yourself soul reaper. You are about to face arrancar number 103, Dordoni"! He said with a flourished pose. I deadpanned at him.

"103? Oh brother. That's a pretty high number isn't it"? Nel spoke up from my shoulder.

"Yeah. It should be a two digit number. Two digits max. And you know what? I've never even heard of one with three digits". She said while looking at the arrancar with a blank look. Then Selena spoke up quietly from my left.

"I know what he is. He's a demoted arrancar. Shamed but still useful to Aizen". She said with a snicker.

"Hey, what are you whispering about"?! He demanded the three of us. The three of us looked at him with pitying looks, "How dare you! I can see that you have no respect for me"! He yelled at us. I sighed.

"I'm sorry...it's just that...you seem really weak". I said as I drew Zangetsu. This caused him to really freak out.

"What was that?! Take me on and then we'll see who's the weak one you little smart ass! You're going to pay for that smart mouth of yours! Be prepared to be amazed at my strength"! He yelled loudly at me before moving around and spinning and doing a bunch of other crap. He came at me but I easily evaded him and sent him swerving to the left.

Then I went to hit him with my sword but he somehow managed to dodge it.

"What the hell's with all these weird moves"? I asked him as he bounced on one foot while laughing at me. I kept on trying to hit him, but at the last second he would swing to the side or hop up into the air and dodge any strike I would send at him. It was really getting on my last nerve.

"You're way out of your league nino! You think you can challenge Lord Aizen with your pitiful skills nino?! Ha"! He said as he twirled around like a ballarina.

"Shut up"! I yelled at him as he continued to spin.

"Hehe! You won't even last two seconds"! He said as he spun again. Then his foot tripped on a rock and he spun into the wall. The wall cracked and the crack began to climb up the wall.

"Ha! Serves you right"! I said before busting out laughing. Then I heard a crumbling sound and some small rocks landed on my shoulders. I looked up only to be met with a large rock in the face, "UMPH"! Then I heard Nel's laughter.

"Hahaha"! The rock fell of my face and I saw that she was pointing and laughing at me. I looked at her.

"What's so funny"!? I said to her just as a rock fell on her head.

"Uhhh...". She whined after the impact. I pointed at her and started laughing. Selena still stood off to the side and continued to say nothing. Silent as always.

"Hahahaha! Not so funny now is it? That's what you get for laughing at me"! I said to her. Then she fell to the floor. I paused, at first thinking that she was faking, but when she didn't get up I ran over to her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you got hit so hard. Are you alright"? I asked her. She had her hands on her face and looked like she was crying, but then she looked up at me and smiled.

"Ha! Got you that time Ichigo! It hit Nel's mask so it didn't hurt at all! You should have seen the look on your face"! She said while laughing at me. I glared at her.

"Why you little brat". I growled. Then Dordoni began speaking again.

"You're not bad for an amature nino. But most of your moves were revealed in that little skirmish of ours". I sneered.

"Oh yeah. You have no idea of what I can do". I said as I got serious again. He smirked before disappearing using sonido. I hadn't anticipated him using that right away and was unprepared when I felt the pain in my shoulder as he cut into me and moved past me to stand behind Nel, Selena, and myself. I twisted around and looked at him in surprise. I hadn't anticipated that he would be able to move that fast.

Just like an espada.

_'What the hell'?_ I thought to myself. Nel called out to me while Selena swooped in, grabbed her up, and moved off to the side as I ran forward towards the arrancar. I raised my blade into the air and released a Gestugatensho, only for the arrancar to lift his foot up into the air while still facing away from me. When his foot collided with the Getsugatensho, it broke apart wth ease, as if ithad no power behind it at all.

"Hey. Didn't your mama ever teach you not to judge a book by its cover nino"? He said while looking at me smugly. Doing a complete 180 from how he'd been acting from before. I glared at him.

"What exactly are you. You're not just some random arrancar". I said as I tensed for another attack. He smirked at me.

"I am a Privaron Espada. We are fallen espadas. In other words, I was once known as espada number 3 nino". He said with a smug look on his face as I glared at him.

Then he charged at me again. But this time I moved and blocked his foot from smashing into my head. I pushed back and sent him flying back. Then I charged forward and tried to hit him, but he jumped up into the air while twisting his foot out to hit me again.

It smashed through several of the columns as he tried to send another kick at me. I managed to bring my blade up again, but this time when his foot landed on Zangetsu, the force of it sent me flying through the wall to my left and into a large open space. I used what I'd learned during training with Dominique and the vizards to quickly force my reiatsu into my feet to get my balance back. As I did that I looked around my new terrain and saw that it was a large room, which was good for this sort of fight.

The hallway, though tall as hell, wasn't very wide and constricted my movements. But then I noticed that Dordoni had sonidoed above me as I had been looking down at the ground.

"Looking down? You shouldn't have to look to see where you're going to land". He said smugly as he tried to kick me again. Only I wasn't able to get Zangetsu up all the way in time to block his strike. His heel smashed into my face and sent me plummeting to the wall behind me. Just before I collided with the wall though, I straightened out and landed on my feet, causing a huge crater to form from the impact.

_'I wasn't looking down to see where I was going to land either. I was checking my surroundings'._ I thought to myself snidely, even though I didn't say it out loud. I felt warm blood trickling down my face, it was annoying, but at least it wasn't going in my eyes. I'd moved just enough to keep an even worse wound from being inflicted on me;

"Slow reflexes, a porous defense, and weak spacial awareness". He snorted, which reminded me of one of those bulls that you see in those rodeos that Dominique got me to watch while in America with her

_'His hair even sticks up like a pair of bull's horns'._ Hichigo said as he mentioned to the two longer things of hair that stuck out from the rest of his hair-do.

_'I wonder if I should grab a red cape and yell out Toro Toro'._ I thought with a mental snicker, joined by Hichigo's own laughter. Then Dordoni began talking again while making another goofy pose.

"What am I doing here!? It's like taking candy from a baby". He paused before looking at me, "Unless...you preform bankai nino. After all, you can't possibly defeat me without it". He said with a smirk on his face. As he said this I got serious. I didn't need bankai to take this guy out. I could take him down with just shikai. I knew I could.

"No way". I said as I glared at him. He looked at me in confusion.

"Why not nino"? He asked.

"Cause I don't need it to kick your ass". I said cockily.

"Oh really"? He said with a glare.

"Yeah. I mean, you're not even a real espada right"? I asked. His glare intensified.

"Correct". He said darkly.

"Well then if I'm going to have to fight and defeat all the espadas here in Hueco Mundo then I can't be wasting my bankai on an opponent who's not even an espada"! I finished saying with a yell as I surged towards him, aiming to cut him in half. But as my blade went to slice through him, he lifted up his leg and blocked my strike.

"I see. I understand perfectly nino. But allow me to give you some advice". He said as he grabbed Zangetsu to hold me in place, much like Dominique had done to Johnathan in her leaders match. He went to grab his zanpakuto before speaking, "Don't underestimate me. Whirl, Giralda"! He said as a huge vortex of wind blinded me momentarily. I hadn't been expecting him to release his sword just like that.

_'How could he go into his resurrection without even drawing his sword'?_ I thought to myself as I was surrounded by the vortex of wind.

"What are you doing nino? Raise your weapon". I heard his voice even through the thunderous wind. I tried to move my blade to defend myself, but before I could even raise my sword I felt two strong pincer-like object wrap around my left side and throw me into the air without any warning. As I flew through the air I looked down to see Dordoni in his resurrection. It looked like he had a whole bunch or horn-like pipes coming from various spots on his body that seemed to be the source of the tornadoes.

"What"? I said in confusion as he lifted his leg up into the air in some kind of martial arts stance and the tornadoes seemed to grow into beaks.

"Are you ready? Giralda". He said as the tornados increased in speed began to come towards me.

_'Shit'._ I thought as I tried to dodge and block the numerous tornado beaks. Only for one of them to knock me into the ground. I moved to get up and to continue to fight, only to be over-run by an onslaught of Dordoni's attacking tornado beaks.

Selena's POV

I watched as Ichigo fought against the privaron espada Dordoni. I'd never seen a privaron espada before. I'd always thought that Aizen killed any espada's that were kicked out, but with this; I guess I was wrong. I looked down.

Nel was trembling against my leg as she watched Ichigo fight. I could tell that she'd become attached to both Ichigo and his girlfriend Dominique. I bent down and put my hand gently on her skull mask fragment on her head. I couldn't say anything reassuring though. I wasn't much for saying uplifting things. I knew if Ichigo didn't use his bankai though like Dordoni said, he would probably die and then it would be left to me to protect this kid.

_'This sucks'. _ I thought to myself as Nel continued to watch Ichigo get thrown around from the tornado-like bird things that the privaron espada was making.

"Itsygo's gonna die". Nel whimpered and I noticed a glow coming from the eye holes of her mask. Something was up with this kid...but I had no clue what. Whatever it was though, it most likely wasn't good.

Kyle's POV

"This reiatsu...is it Ichigo's". Renji said as we ran down the long hallway. I felt that the young male shadow shinigami from earlier was indeed the first to start his combat, and not only him, but now two of the other teams that had Ciera and Mimie were also entering combat. The team with Nami though hadn't started fighting yet like us. But from the feel of things, that would change soon.

That was when I felt an approaching reiatsu from the direction in which we'd come from. And from the looks of things, Renji also noticed this as well. We both turned back to see that tiki looking hollow from earlier following us while screaming and crying his head off. Renji was the first one to speak.

"Are you crazy!? You scared the crap out of me! What the hell are you doing here"?! He yelled at Dondochakka, who was still running after us.

"Ne! Ne! NE"! He yelled out panickingly.

"Ne?! What's a Ne"?! Renji yelled at him.

"NEL! I'm lookn' for Nel"! He bawled. This time I spoke up.

"Nel's not with us! I think you're lost"! I yelled at him over his loud blubbering.

"Where's Nel"! He yelled again, as if he didn't hear me.

"See, you are lost! You chose us at random didn't you! I knew there was something wrong about this"! Renji yelled at him again.

"Nel went running after Ichigo! I gotta find her"! Dondochakka continued to blubber.

"You already said that last part"! I said, getting annoyed quickly. But then I took a calming breath and continued, "And anyway she's probably safer with him than on her own anyway". I told him, trying to placate him, but he continued to cry, even though he quieted down a whole lot.

"No. No, I gotta find her before she... Before she goes...". He stopped mid-sentence with a hiccup. Both Renji and I looked at each other seriously. Then Dondochakka began yelling at Renji who was yelling back at him. I ignored them though. Maybe this was more serious than what I'd originally thought it was, but we couldn't try to find her right now. All we could do was hope that Ichigo and Selena would protect her when she caught up to them.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Ichigo's POV

That guy Dordoni kept sending his tornado beaks at me, but thanks to Dominique's training, I was able to keep most of them at bay. Some would take me unawares and would get a hit in, but I managed to destroy most of the tornado beaks. One managed to grab my side again, but was still mostly blocked from my zanpakuto being in the way and I was sent flying through the air while Dordoni taunted me.

"Come on nino! Show me your bankai! Or is it that you wish to die"?! He yelled while sending yet more of the tornado beaks at me. I gripped my Zangetsu harder in my hands and charged up an attack of my own.

"Getsugatensho"! I called out as I destroyed the tornado beak entirely. Then he began yelling about wanting to see me at my best and how me holding back my strength was sweet but foolish. This guy was really beginning to irritate me so I charged at him. He glared at me as he blocked my strike and sent me flying back several meters.

"Don't take me lightly! Naughty boys deserved to be punished! Cero"! He said as he placed both his pinky and pointer fingers together with his palms facing me. A bright red light glowed in the space between his fingers and a cero shot directly at me. I twisted in midair to block it with a Getsugatensho, but then something small appeared in front of me and blocked the cero

"Nel"?! I said in surprise as I watched her block the cero with her whole body, but then I heard a gulping sound and watched as the cero disappeared into her mouth. She'd eaten the cero, not blocked it. Then she held her hands over her mouth before burping extremly loud and then the cero, which she'd eaten, came back out and blasted Dordoni.

Personally I didn't know whether to laugh or just stare dumbly. I ended up doing the later as Nel stood shaking as she spoke to Dordoni.

"Don't...don't hurt Ichigo". She said out of breath. Then suddenly Selena jumped in front of her just in time to block some invisible hit that sent her flying several meters back and over Nel. Nel accidentally got hit along with her, but Selena caught her and landed on the ground safely.

"Guys! You okay"?! I yelled to them. Selena nodded while Nel looked like she was in shock. Dordoni looked at the two of them with a cold look on his face.

"I don't know who that bebe is. But redirecting my cero is no mean feat. Nonetheless...it cannot be permitted. Dissappear"! He said as he sent several of the tornado beaks at both Selena and Nel. I moved quickly, activated my bankai, and moved in time to slash the tornado beak in half while also hitting Dordoni with the excess of the same attack.

Nel was still being held by Selena while I stood in front of them with Tensa Zangetsu pointing at Dordoni who looked at me in mild surprise as the horn on his left shoulder fell off and a spurt of blood came from his shoulder as well. The horn clattered to the floor loudly in the silence before I spoke up to Dordoni.

"Well? You wanted to see my bankai. Here it is then". I said darkly at him. He smirked at me.

"I see. It's about time nino". He said. I then spoke up to Selena and Nel who were still behind me.

"I'm sorry guys. You two got hurt because of my stupid ego. I thought that I had to fight the espada's without my bankai, or else I wouldn't be able to fight the stronger ones, but now...I'm going to finish this guy off and then we'll get back on track". I said as I looked at Dordoni with a serious look on my face.

"I see nino. Restraint in battle is necessary for those who seek great strength. It's very impressive". Dordoni said with a knowing smile on his face.

"It's not worth letting a friend get hurt though". I told him. He smirked at me.

"Then you do not seek power for your own sake? You merely wish to protect your friends? You are kind nino. Like a saint...but you have other abilities, no"? He said as the tornado beak that I'd just destroyed earlier reformed and he looked at me with a dark look on his face, "I know about it. Hollowfication". He said. My eyes went wide before going back to a neutral look.

_'Grimmjow must have told them about Dominique's and my own power when he returned after our last fight'._ I thought to myself with a mental growl.

_'Stupid fucker'._ Hichigo sneered towards Grimmjow. Dordoni began speaking again before Hichigo could say anymore.

"We've monitored and analyzed all your fights in the World of the Living. You possess a technique that gives you explosive strength by making you more like a hollow. Now show me"! He yelled as he came at me. His tornado beaks came at me and I slashed them apart with ease, but he began to laugh.

_'Remember, when you're in bankai and use your mask your reiatsu drops even faster than normal'._ Hichigo reminded me. I growled.

"Don't you think I already know that you idiot". I said out loud as I took out two more of the tornado beaks.

"Aha! Such enormous reiatsu! But I told you! I want to see you at your best! I will force you to show me nino"! Dordoni said as even more of the tornado beaks came at me. Then I remembered that Selena and Nel were still behind me. And that was when I knew he would go after them to force me to hollowfy. The wind had picked up around me, restricting my vision and I knew he would ambush them to get to me.

"No he won't"! I growled out loud as I rushed towards both Selena and Nel. I picked up Selena who still had Nel in her arms and shunpoed off to the side of the room with them near the wall. Then I moved away from them to face Dordoni who looked shocked at what I'd done.

"Very good nino. Looks like you figured me out". He said with a smirk on his face. I looked at him darkly.

"You said you wanted to see my hollowfication right"? I asked him.

"Yes". He answered.

"So you'd go after those two who aren't even a part of this fight"?

"Your job is to protect your friends and mine is to fight you at your best. If you do not hollowfy, then instead of attacking you, I will attack them". He smirked at me.

"Bastard. Don't you have any shame at all"? I growled.

"Of course I do! I would suffer great shame if I were unable to fight you at your best"! He yelled out as the wind around him got even stronger and several more tornado beaks formed in the air. Then he looked at me with a dark look on his face, "Compared to that, all other shame pales nino". He said seriously.

"I see". I said more to myself than to him. I looked back at Selena and Nel who were still near the wall, "You two just stay there. I'll finish this quickly and I promise not to let any of his reiatsu get past me". I told them as I lifted my hand up to my face.

_'Only for an instant though. He want to see hollowfication, well he'll only get a glimpse of it'._ Hichigo said seriously. I looked at Dordoni with a smirk on my own face.

"Okay dude. But it'll only be for an instant". I told him. He smiled at me.

"I ask for nothing more". He said.

"Glad to hear it". I said as I summoned my mask onto my face. My reiatsu skyrocketed, but I made sure to control it and kept it away from both Nel and Selena and to send it in Dordoni's direction.

"Hahahaha! Marvelous! What impressive reiatsu! I am deeply honored to fight against such a powerful adversary such as you nino! Now a toast to an exhibition of spectacular destructive force nino"! He yelled out joyfully as I swung my blade downward, not even wasting a Getsugatensho on him. The reiatsu flowing from my blade was enough to slice through all of the tornado beaks and to slash him deeply vertically on his chest and the same shoulder I'd injured on him earlier.

He looked down at the massive amount of blood flowing from his wound and then looked at me as I raised my left hand to my face. His expression was one of confusion, while I removed the mask.

"I told you. Only for an instant". I said with a glare. He looked at me with a smirk on his face as his eyes rolled up into the back of his head.

"The humiliation". He said as he passed out. I could see though that I hadn't delivered a fatal blow, although he would die eventually from the blood loss.

_'Maybe he knows where they're holding Orihime in this huge place'._ I thought to myself. But he would die before he would wake up if his wounds were left untreated. I looked at Selena.

"Hey, do you know how to heal wounds"? I asked her. She shook her head.

"No. I'm not a soul reaper. I'm a full blooded bount and my doll has the ability to control earth, but I can't heal". She explained. I looked at her in confusion though.

"Doll? What's that"? I asked her. Nami never mentioned anything like that. I knew she had a zanpakuto, but I'd never seen her use anything else.

"A doll is what a bount uses in battle. It can take the form of pretty much anything, but usually takes the form of something important to the user. In my case, my doll took the form of a dagger because my family was a group of assassins when I was little". She said with a smile on her face.

"But my sister, Nami, is half bount. She doesn't have a doll though". I told her. Selena nodded.

"Yeah. That happens sometimes with hybrids like her. Instead of having a doll, their doll's abilities are transferred into their body. Although it's not the same for each hybrid and there are very few bount/soul reaper hybrids like Captain Nami. Her doll fused with her at a young age, most likely when she was an infant still, that's why she has the wings on her back all the time. Her doll is her wings". Selena explained. I nodded.

I could understand that, maybe not very well, but with what Dominique told me, Squad 0 had info on just about everything. I could ask Nami about it myself later, or even go with Dominique to the barracks since she'd told me about the huge library of information they have there.

"Well that's good and all, but we need to find out how to heal this guy just enough so that we can find out where they're keeping Orihime at". I said seriously. That was when Nel jumped up excitedly.

"Nel can heal him some! Nel's drool can heal boo-boos"! She said as a drop of drool started dripping down her mouth as she spoke. I sweat dropped but shrugged. Nel walked over to Dordoni and began to drool on the bloody wound on his shoulder and chest. And surprisingly enough it began to slowly heal. The blood stopped flowing, but the slash mark was still there.

After about five minutes of her drooling on him he began to wake up. When he did finally open his eyes, Nel had moved from his shoulder to his face and was about to let a huge amount of spit to land on him. I smirked as the spit splattered onto his face and he completely freaked out.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH"! He yelled as he scooted away from her.

_'That was strangely satisfying to see him freak like that. Although I'd probably do the same if I saw a kid drooling over my face'._ I thought to myself with a mental sweat drop, and hearing Hichigo shudder.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing"!? He yelled at Nel. She smiled at him while drool continued to drip from her mouth.

"What does it look like I'm doing. I'm drooling on you". She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I can see that, but why"?! He yelled at her. I moved to stand beside her with Tensa Zangetsu resting on my right shoulder.

"Quiet down. Stop yelling Don Panini". I said to grate on his nerves.

"It's Dordoni! Do I look like a delicious sandwich to you"!? He yelled at me. I mentally smirked, but then crouched down to Nel and put my hand on her head.

"She says that her drool's got some mild healing abilities. Right Nel"? I asked her. She smiled.

"Right. So that's why Nel does this". She said as she shoved her whole fist into her mouth and then when she pulled it out a bucket of puke landed on the floor. I sweat dropped and ever so cautiously, moved off to the side and away from the puke. Drool was one thing, but barf was another.

"What are you doing"?! Dordoni yelled at her.

"Like Nel said, it's drool". She smiled sweetly.

"That's not drool, it's vomit"! He yelled at her as she moved closer to him.

"A lot comes out when I fondle my uvula".

"I know! It's called puke! Nice young ladies shouldn't do such things"! He yelled at her. She'd gotten right in his face again and he was trying hard to keep her away, but it seemed that he was so freaked out that he forgot that he could attack her. Or maybe he was still too badly injured to do so. But then something changed. Nel put both her hands over her mouth and she turned as green as her hair.

"I'm...gonna puke". She whimpered from behind her hands and the next thing I heard was Dordoni's scream from having both drool and puke all over him. I definitely didn't envy the guy there. Soon though everything calmed down and Dordoni was lying back on the floor while Selena was near the door. Nel was still sitting beside Dordoni with a smile on her face still.

"My defeat is total...and yet I'm almost relieved. My body was filled with power, my mind with the will to win. I was so sure that I could take anything you threw at me and strike back. My preparation was complete, but I couldn't have foreseen this. You are strong nino". I looked away.

"No I'm not". Not compared to Dominique. She would have finished the fight and wouldn't have thought twice about striking him down from the very start. I took my time and tried to hold back, but lost sight of what was important. Dordoni paused before continuing to speak.

"I wanted to be a real espada again. The espada's are Lord Aizen's servants, but Lord Aizen only sees them as weapons. I know that. Still...when one stands at the peak, one can never forget the view. It was a satisfying vantage point. I thought if I defeated you when you were at your best, Lord Aizen would be pleased and I could return to the espadas. That is why I urged you to hollowfy. And my determination...remains unchanged"! He yelled as he jumped up and drew his sword.

_'Damn idiot'._ Hichigo said darkly.

"You're surprised? You must expect a counter-attack when you heal the wounds of an enemy. No"? He said as he raised his blade towards me.

"Don't! You're still wounded"! I yelled at him as Nel moved to get away from him. All thoughts of asking about where Orihime was being kept flew from my mind as he charged at me.

"Wounded is a state of the spirit nino. When the will to fight is strong, physical injuries mean nothing! See?! You are sweet and soft like the chocolate, nino"! He yelled as his blade came whistling towards me. I moved quickly, grabbing Nel and then rushing past him while leaving giving him a slash across his chest to warn him not to follow us. Selena looked at me as I joined her by the door.

Then we took off down the hallway to head deeper into Las Noches.

Ciera's POV

After running through a long hallway we came to a huge room that was filled with a ton of pillars. There was a female arrancar there waiting for us. She had black hair that was pulled up into two pig-tails, and had tear-like purple estigmas on her face. And like almost every other female arrancar I'd seen, her clothes were extremely revealing. She utilized an unusual type of zanpakuto. It looked like some sort of yoyo that was attached to a normal hilt with a long cord.

"Hahaha! How many times do I have to tell you!? It's useless to hide from me. There's no escape from Cirucci-"! Both Uryu and I cut her off at the same time with our attacks. While Uryu shot his arrows at her I raised my hand up into the air and four Anken appeared over my four fingers like claws before they shot off towards the arrancar. I was a zanpakuto spirit and my ability was that I could summon an infinite amount of Anken into existence to be used in combat.

My wielder had sent me here though as a spy for her friend, and I'd been following her orders for the past year and a half now. Even though I'd only joined Kyle's group originally for sake of numbers, I now felt bonded to them. They accepted me, even if they didn't know what I was. Even though they could sense reiatsu and stuff, they couldn't tell what I was.

As the attacks flew towards the arrancar she moved her spinning wheel in front of her in time to block both sets of attacks. She looked at us with a bored, yet ticked off expression on her face. The arrows disappeared into thin air while the Anken flew off an imbedded themselves in a couple of the pillars off to the side. I twitched my fingers and they also disappeared.

"What was that? Would you please not attack me while I'm saying my lines? Don't you people have any manners? Geeze. Are all humans so rude"? She said as she sent her spinning wheel towards Uryu. She just barely missed him.

"Stop running away mister funny clothes"! She yelled at Uryu.

_'Like she has anything to say about that'?_ I thought to myself.

"Look who's talking"! Uryu yelled as he continued to run. As he ran to the left I moved quickly to the right and out of her field of vision. I cocked my hand back just past my head, as if I was about to launch a javelin. This time only one Anken appeared over my hand and it was twice as big as the others. I then sent it flying towards Cirucci at a breakneck speed.

Just as it appeared that I'd hit her, the wheel appeared behind her and blocked the Anken. It was sent flying up into the air and landed directly in front of Uryu.

"What the hell was that for"?! He yelled at me. I sweat dropped.

"Sorry Uryu". I called out to him as I made the Anken vaporize. Cirucci looked at me darkly. I picked at the collar of my cloak before tossing it off. That thing would only get in my way anyway.

"You people seem to enjoy sneak attacks and running away don't you"? She said with a sneer on her face.

"So what? As long as it gets the job done, I'm all for it". I said with a shrug while looking at her from underneath my bangs. She glared at me as she prepared for her next strike

Kyle's POV

"ABABABA! BABABABABA! BABABABABABA! BAA"! Was the strange sound Dondochakka was making as he carried Renji while running down the hallway. I was caught in between laughing, and trying to help. I settled for laughing as Dondochakka slammed Renji headfirst into the stone floor.

_'I definitely got stuck with the weird ones of the group. Although, they still don't have anything on Mimie'._ I thought to myself ruefully.

"Hey...what am I doing"? Dondochakka asked in a daze. Renji flung his leg forward and smashed it into Dondochakka's head.

"You're asking me?! You said something about detecting Nel's reiatsu and then you freaked out. Then you picked me up and carried me here. Geez". Renji said as he sat back up, knocking pieces of rock off his head.

"Yeah cuz I got all excited about detecting Nel's reiatsu". Dondochakka repeated.

"That's what I just said"! Renji yelled.

"I can't help it ya know". Dondochakka whined to him. I looked at the two of them while keeping a look out for a possible ambush.

"Come on guys. We need to get moving. We're sitting ducks here". I said out loud. Then Dondochakka looked down the hallway where we'd come from in surprise.

"Pe-"?

"What's with you"? Renji asked. Then Dondochakka flipped out again and the waterworks also started back up.

"Where's Peshe!? Peshe's gone"! He wailed.

"The bony bug guy?! He wasn't with you when he showed up"! Renji yelled at him while stomping his foot into Dondochakka's face again. I sighed and started walking down the hallway ahead of those two idiots. I tuned out their yelling as I walked ahead, knowing that they'd eventually catch up with me.

_'I swear, these two just might be woorse than dealing with Mimie, Selena, and Ciera'._ I thought to myself with a loud sigh.

Ciera's POV

"Damn". Uryu said as we both hid behind two pillars, mostly out of the sight of Cirucci. With her on the higher ground and the fact that she has such a versitile weapon was really beginning to wear on us.

"Awwe. Did you guys get boo-boos. Perhaps it's time I go on ahead and finish this then". She said with a snobby tone. I ran forward and summoned six more Anken with both my hands, three on each side, and sent them flying towards her, but of course she just used that wheel of hers to send my dark swords flying away.

_'Damn. As long as she's got that wheel, I can't get a good shot in'._ I thought to myself with a growl in my throat.

"Oh! So one of the little rats decides to come out of hiding". She paused as she looked at somewhere behind me, "Who are you"?! She yelled as she sent her wheel flying over me and at someone else. When I looked back I saw Peshe on the ground. Uryu, who'd been behind the pillar that was closest to the door also looked at him.

"You're Peshe Gautiche"? He said in surprise.

"Wait...do you like me"? Peshe said randomly.

"What the hell?! Why did you just even ask me that"?! Uryu yelled at him with several tic marks on his head. I snickered.

"Shut up"! Came Cirucci's voice as she sent her wheel at the two of them. I took this oprotunnity to send an Anken at the cord that was attached to the wheel. Unfortunately though Cirucci moved it in time to block the blade and stop my attack. That stupid wheel was fast for such a big thing.

_'Gotta find a way to get rid of that damn wheel'._ I told myself. Though at least the attention wasn't on me, Cirucci was focused on the newest guest here.

"Who's the guy in white. Are you a termite"? She asked him.

"A termite!? How rude! I'm a stag beetle"! Peshe said angrily.

"And why's that important"? Uryu asked.

"Of course it's important! Stag beetles are shiny and black. And they're cool"! Peshe defended.

"But you're wearing white". Uryu pointed out.

"Well so are you! You're wearing white from head to foot"! Peshe said as he got in his face.

"There's nothing wrong with white! I take pride in my whites"!

_'Okay, now all we need now is for Mr. Clean to show up and we'll have a million dollar comercial'._ I thought to myself with a sweat drop.

"Shut up"! Cirucci said again as she attacked them with her wheel. Then she brought it back to her and then it started spinning while sitting on the end of the hilt, "So the termite's with you guys"? She asked.

"Of course he isn't! He's a hollow"! Uryu yelled at her. He was trying to protect the guy.

"Hey, I thought we were friends". Peshe whined to him. I facepalmed myself as Cirucci smirked.

"Aha"! She said as she attacked them both. Though I wasn't quite sure why I was being ignored, but it made me feel lonely for some reason. I decided to force her attention on me, and hopefully give Uryu enough time to get Peshe out of here. I summoned an Anken and sent it flying towards Cirucci. She blocked it, but this time I kept sending them.

A dark look overcame her face as she was forced to take me seriously or else she'd have her head chopped off. Cause that was where I was aiming each and every time.

"What's the matter girl!? You was talking all tough earlier, but now I'm the one attacking and you must not be very good at dealing with a constant barrage of blades coming at you huh? You're getting backed into a corner"! I taunted her as I sent another three Anken sailing towards her neck. She managed to block the first one, but then the second one she had to dodge and the third one managed to slice across her cheek.

A small rivulet of blood began to drip down her face and I smirked while she glared at me hatefully. I smirked at her darkly, my eyes slitting somewhat in contentment at her irritation. Then I felt a familiar presense close behind me.

"Watch this"! Came Peshe's voice as some clear liquid-like substance went soaring past my head and towards Cirucci. Cirucci jumped up into the air and avoided the liquid all together while smiling triumphantly.

"I don't know what that stuff is, but did you really think you could hit me with it!? You guys really are stupid"! She said just as the liquid spread out on not only on the pillar she'd been standing on, but onto almost all of the other pillars around her. She looked down at the pillars with fear in her eyes and when she landed back on it I saw why.

Her footing went right out from underneath her and she went tumbling to the ground, landing on her face, very hard. The ground shook from the impact.

_'Ooooie'._ I winced, even though it hadn't been my face that hit the floor. I then listened to both Uryu and Peshe talking, but I knew it wasn't over yet. She'd only fallen on the floor. We hadn't killed her, so she could get up, and most likely would very soon. In fact, she'd already began twitching back to conciousness.

"You got lucky with that shot. Rip Golondrina"! She yelled as she lifted her face from the floor. Her reiastu rose up and surrounded her, blocking her transformation. Then the reiatsu disappeared as the transformation ended followed by several crashing sounds. We were met with Cirucci wearing was looked like a giant feathered helmet, extremely long clawed arms, a tail and feather-blade wings.

_'Tweet tweet. Well I'm a cat, and I guess she's Tweety Bird, but I ain't eat'n that'._ I thought to myself with a mental snicker as the pillars that she'd destroyed fell to the floor behind her. Cirucci was smirking at us, the slash that I'd given her earlier had been completely healed.

"Well you people certainly made a fool out of me. I was going to toy with you guys for a bit longer but now I'm going to crush you all! Behold arrancar number 105; Cirucci Sanderwicci"! She said as she raised her claws into the air. Then she began charging at us. She alternated using her claws and her bladed wings. Thankfully Peshe had stepped back while Uryu and I tried to attack her.

Just like before though her wings were able to block my Anken. I was just put up against a bad opponent. Normally I would have been able to out manuver and overwhealm my opponents with my speed and long distance attacks. But with her blade feathers, they were vibrating at super high speed. It was so strong that I could feel the vibrations in my skin, making the little hairs on my neck jump up.

"Uryu"! I called out to him. He looked at me while standing in front of Peshe, who'd tried to help out in the fight again, but ended up failing.

"What"?! He yelled back. I shook my head and shunpoed towards him. I then grabbed Peshe and moved onto one of the pillars near the doorway while keeping Peshe with me. I was leaving this up to Uryu. I'd seen his last resort weapon on the belt that he wore. With those he'd be able to slice appart them feathers. I had an extensive knowlege for almost every type of weapon, and I knew all about the quincy seeleschneider.

After that he nodded at me and began to fight against Cirucci. She tried sending her feathers flying at him, but when she did so he pulled out one of the seeleschneider from his belt. His reiatsu rose and he slashed through each of the feathers. She looked at him in shock, but after a short while she went to attack him again. He moved in time and slashed at her remaining feathers that were still attached to her wing. After he did that I took the opprotunity to attack.

I leaped up into the air and threw my arms out to the side as if I was about to take flight.

"Goodbye Cirucci Sanderwicci! Bankai, Nekomaru no Sutā Sufinkusu (Cat Spirit of the Sphinx Star)"! I called out as two huge Anken appeared at my sides that had small gold tassles on the ends of the hilts. Golden armor also appeared on my shoulders and a gold plate adorned my chest with the symbol of a five point star in the center of it. I let go of the blades and they began to glow. They floated at my sides as they readied themselves.

I landed on one of the damaged pillars as I pointed my hands at Cirucci. I quickly called out to Uryu to get the heck out of my way if he wanted to stay alive. Uryu quickly moved out of the way as I sent the two blades flying towards Cirucci.

As they flew towards her, they multipied. Not just by a few though, but five hundred times. It ended up with a total of one thousand huge Anken flying towards the arrancar. And now that she couldn't block the blades with those metal feathers, every single one would hit. Earlier she could have sheilded herself with her feather wings and all the blades would have just bounced off of them.

But now, she was defenseless. Still though, she managed to send several of them flying with her claws and tail, but in the end, even she couldn't defend against a thousand huge Anken. My bankai was a very simple one, but also very effective. To simply overwhealm my opponent with so many blades that they couldn't hope to block or avoid them all.

"AHHHHHHH-"! Was the sound that Cirucci made as the thousand blades pierced her body. The sound was cut off as the blades took her life. At least though, it was pretty fast, Aizen would probably torture her before killing her if we left her alive to fend for herself. This was a kind mercy, because here in Hueco Mundo, everything was based on pain and fear.

I looked at Uryu, who looked at me with wary eyes. I shrugged my shoulders. This was a war, there was no room for weakness. If you let your enemy live, they'd come after you when your back was turned and would slash your head off. That was the law of this world. Kill or be killed.

"Let's go guys. I wouldn't put it past Aizen to send reinforcements to try and attack us when we're weakened from battle". I said as the thousand Anken dissappeared into thin air, leaving behind only a bloody spot on the floor where Cirucci Sanderwicci had once been. I released my bankai and the gold armor on my shoulders and chest dissappeared as well.

Then all three of us began running down the hallway, leaving behind the battle damaged room in our wake.

Mimie's POV

"Hiya"! I yelled as I tried to smack arrancar number 107 named Gantenbainne Mosquede with my whacka-hammer that I'd pulled out from my infinite back portal. Which to me was a funny name cause his last name sounded like mosquito. Buzz, buzz...buzzzzz. Hehe. Chad got smacked around by the guy earlier and didn't seem to interested in the fight, but I was having lots of fun.

"Nyaaaa". Came a soft voice from the door we'd entered from. All three of us paused and looked back to see Bree standing there with a confused look on her face. Gantenbainne looked at her and I could see him contiplating attacking and killing her. I moved quickly. I tossed my hammer away from me as I sonidoed over and scooped her up in my arm, then moved away from him.

She nuzzled against me and whimpered urgently. I looked over at the arrancar and he was looking at me with a confused look on his face. I looked back at Chad.

"You need to fight now. I've got to protect her". I told him seriously, which was weird for me because I was almost never serious...unless I went rouge, then shit got real. I watched as Chad began goint against Gantenbainne. Even though they were fighting, Chad seemed distracted still, and Gantenbainne was calling him out on it. After a short while Gantenbainne's attacks began to get more agressive and more powerful, but Chad continued to be mostly on the defensive. Then again he couldn't use sonido, and that put him at a major dissadvantage.

_'Maybe I should take over the fight since Chad can't seem to get it together'. _I thought to myself as I cocked my head to the side. Bree continued to get more and more agitated though. I couldn't tell what was wrong with her though.

"What's wrong Bree-la"? I asked her, but she only whined at me and kept on trying to get out of my arms. I was then distracted from her by the sound of an explosion close by. I looked over and saw that Gantenbainne had gone into his ressurection state and Chad's right arm had changed forms. It had what looked like some huge sheild on it that looked similar to a hollows mask. It was totally cool.

Then Chad went on the offensive and began pushing Gantenbainne back. His speed had increased at least three times and I could swear that at one point he used sonido, although it looked different that mine. I couldn't sense reiatsu all that well, so I couldn't tell what exactly it was. Gantenbainne tried to fight back, was was blocked easily by Chad's right arm.

Then Gantenbainne tried avoiding him, but Chad caught up with him and blasted him away with the explosion caused by his right arm. But then when the smoke cleared Gantenbainne came out in his ressurection state. He looked like an armadillo for some reason, but the ends where his hands were looked like dragon muzzles. He spoke to Chad for a moment before pointing both his hands at Chad.

A huge energy beam came from his hands and then my vision was blurred by the smoke. And when the smoke cleared, Chad emerged unscathed, but also had something different on him. While his right arm was red and black, his left arm had become red and white. My attention was then brought back to Bree as her struggling got even worse.

"Bree-la settle down. You don't wanna get mixed up in that fight". I told her as she tried to moved towards the fight. She whined loudly, but then a huge exsplosion shook the ground and when I looked up, Chad had punched Gantenbainne into the wall and when he punched him the wall crumbled around the guy and left the image of what looked like a huge skull in the wall. Then the wall dissapeared as the force of the blow caused the wall to colapse.

Chad walked out into the sunlight. Which surprised me cause Hueco Mundo was a world of night. I began to follow him with the still struggling Bree in my arms. Chad bent down near Gantenbainne, who was out cold from the hit and said something to him quietly. Then Chad got up and began to look around, but that was when something very bad passed over my senses.

Chills ran up my spine and I felt suddenly sick to my stomach. I looked back to see a very tall arrancar with an eyepatch and what looked like a spoon for a head, holding a huge double crescent moon sword. His power was strong enough to alert my senses, so that meant that he was very powerful, and Chad wouldn't be able to handle him on his own. I tried to get over to Chad to warn him to get away from the creepy smiling arrancar, but then Bree stopped struggling for some reason.

I looked down at her in confusion for an instant before she sneezed on me. A huge whooshing sound filled my ears and then my vision turned dark.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Dominique's POV

Rukia, Nami, and myself were running swiftly down the long corridor that led deeper into Las Noches. There'd been several battles already and others that were still continuing on. Rukia was leading the team while I hung in the back in case we were ambushed. Nami spoke up.

"I'm surprised that we haven't been attacked yet". She said as she looked around alertly, her left hand resting on her zanpakuto at her hip.

"I agree. Most everyone else has already engaged in combat, but Renji's team and us are the only ones who've been left alone so far". Rukia said as we felt Chad's and Mimie's reiatsus snuff out. All of us stopped in shock as we sensed what had happened and Rukia was the first to speak, "I hope that wasn't". She said as she glanced over to our left, where Chad's and Mimie's reiatsus had been located.

"Wait guys. It's not completely gone, but his is fading fast". Nami said as she ran forward.

_'But where's Mimie's reiatsu'?_ I thought to myself as I followed her towards a doorway. Mimie's reiatsu also seemed to disappear, but it left immediately, as if by sonido or shunpo, not like Chad's. His was fading, but not completely gone yet. Perhaps she went after the enemy.

"We need to hurry". I said as the three of us ran through the doorway into a place that was lit by bright sunlight. I squinted my eyes at the sudden change in light. This was definitely a fake sunlight room, much like the training grounds at the barracks. There were white towers everywhere and a blue sky without a sun even though it was sunny.

"How can there be blue skies"? Rukia said to herself.

"Would you like me to explain". A deep masculine voice came from behind us. All three of us turned around to see nothing, but when we looked back the other way we saw an arrancar with a huge cylinder like thing on its head.

"Follow me". This time a high pitched voice echoed around us as the arrancar entered the large tower. I immediately felt that something was off, but I couldn't tell what. I began walking forward regardless. The others followed me into the tower and we were instantly covered in darkness, although it wasn't as dark as the tunnel from earlier, so my night vision had no trouble seeing in this darkness.

I looked up and saw the arrancar standing on a large platform in front of us. I lifted my hand to my zanpakuto hilt and stood at the ready.

"RYU-CHAN"! A familiar yell came from my left as I was tackled hugged. The only thing I could see was a thing of black hair and a skull and crossbones hairclip. Wait, I knew that hairclip.

"Louis"?! I gasped as she hugged me to the point where I felt like I would pass out.

"You're gonna kill her if you keep hugging the life out of her like that Louis". Came another familiar voice from the same direction that the hug came from. Then, thankfully, I was released and I managed to suck in a much needed breath of air. I looked up and saw the familiar faces of my old linking class teachers and sixth seats of Squad 0, Louis and Piair.

"Oh sorry! I guess I misjudged my strength again. But anyway, hi"! Louis said cheerily as she smiled at me warmly. She looked just as she did the last time I saw her a year ago. The same super long sleeves on her shihakusho and the same pink hairclip while her hollow, Piair, wore a sleevless shihakusho and had his hair long and messy around his head.

"Hey guys. It's great to see you again"! I said happily to my two old teachers.

"Who are these people Dominique and how do you know them"? Rukia asked. I quickly explained to both her and Nami about these two and how they were spies for Squad 0. I told them that they were the new sixth espada who Toshiro and the others fought in the world of the living. She didn't believe me though.

"I'll show you then"! Louis said as a bright light engulfed both her and Piair. When the light faded, Luppi was standing there with a casual smile on his face. Then I remembered the arrancar from earlier. I looked up at it and smirked.

"Are you one of us"? I asked. It raised his gloved hand up to the mask and when he removed it Rukia let out a gasp beside me. The face that was revealed looked to be a man with black hair who looked strangely like Ichigo, but then I noticed the slightly longer bottom eyelashes, just like Kukaku's and Ganju's.

He was a Shiba. Kaien Shiba, the man whom Rukia had killed when he was taken over by a hollow.

"Here, I'm known as the ninth espada: Aaroniero Arruruerie". He said with a serious look on his face. I looked over at Luppi and saw that he was pouting at Kaien. Then I saw that Rukia was looking at him with disbelief and Nami was looking confused. Then Luppi spoke up with an annoyed tone.

"Will you just separate already. Besides, you know that isn't how your real face looks while you're in fusion. Kaien laughed as he raised his hands up in surrender.

"Sure, sure. But then again I don't want to scare my old subordinate with that face". He said with a laugh. Luppi still glared at him anyway.

"So what. No matter what you do, your fusion form's face will always be freaky. I don't care if you have transformative abilities in your fusion state". Luppi said as he crossed his arms sulkily.

"Fine. Separation tactic 4". Another bright light filled the room and when it cleared a man wearing a normal shihakusho and an inner hollow also wearing the reverse version was standing on the pillar.

"Much better". Luppi said with a smirk as he separated back into Louis and Piair again. Then the shadow shinigami turned to look at us again.

"Let me introduce myself properly now. I am Kaien Shiba and this is Metastalkia Bashi, and we're the ninth seats of Squad 0". He said with a flourished bow before he leaped down from the platform. I nodded my head.

"Well that explains why I didn't recognize you. I'd never met you at the barracks before". I said as I walked towards my old teachers. I looked back to Rukia who was still flabbergasted at seeing the man whom she'd thought she'd killed so long ago alive and well. I then turned to look at Kaien, "Well then. Why don't you explain to us how you're alive". I said as he nodded to me with a smile. He walked over to the wall of the platform he'd been standing on earlier. He opened a panel in the wall to show several multicolored pillows.

"Here ya go"! He said cheerily as he tossed each of us a pillow to sit on. Rukia got a red one, Louis and Piair both got purple ones, Kaien and Metestalkia both also got red ones, and I got a freak'n pink one. I glared at Kaien as I tossed the pillow down before flopping on it loudly. I saw him snicker and I knew that he knew I despised the color pink.

I squished my butt further into the pillow that was actually filled with little beans so technically is was a bean bag chair, although much smaller than was I was used to sitting in. When I moved, the chair squished loudly cause the little air beads rubbed against each other. It was an annoying sound, and I smirked and the now irritated look on Kaien's face.

The others quickly followed in sitting down on their chairs, making squishing sounds as they did. Then Kaien began to talk, but when he talked, he talked to Rukia more so than to anybody else.

"That night when I died, my spiritual body began to decay. After you killed me I disintegrated in my family's house. But then I was transported to Hueco Mundo. The hollow Metestacia who fused with my body was one of Aizen's experiments. It was designed so that if it was killed that it would reform in Hueco Mundo to be healed. But when the body reformed, it took on my shape. That was expected though. What they didn't count on though was that my will would overcome Metestacia's. But my soul didn't completely destroy his, instead Metestacia became Metestalkia". I looked at him in surprise. I'd never heard of such an incident happening in Squad 0.

"How is that possible though"? I asked him seriously. He looked at me blankly for a moment, but then smiled cockily.

"No clue really. It just sort of happened ya know". He said with an unworried shrug. I shrugged myself. It was something unusual, that was for sure, but weird shit like that happens all the time when it comes to Squad 0. I mean who was I to talk about weird shit when for the last four and a half years I had two inner hollows, and a silent zanpakuto even though I knew both shikai and bankai. Rukia, who'd been hanging onto his every word since he started speaking, jumped up in surprise.

"This is serious! Please don't make jokes about that"! Rukia said loudly. I sighed. I thought it had been kind of funny, even though this was a serious business.

"Jeeze, chill out Rukia. I was only trying to lighten up the mood since you seemed so down". He said with a disappointed look on his face. He kind of looked like a smacked puppy. I laughed at the same time Louis did. I then looked at her.

"So Louis. What are you doing here? I thought you were the new sixth espada now that Grimmjow was demoted". I asked her curiously. She smiled at me.

"I'm here because Grimmjow took his spot back after Aizen made Orihime heal his right arm. He killed a shadow clone of Luppi and so I've been hanging out here ever since. First he punched a hole through me, oh and then he ceroed the top half of my body completely away. Major ouchies. Oh, and guess what"? She said suddenly serious.

"What"? I said, hoping that it wasn't some sort of bad news that would hurt our chances of winning this war.

"I finally beat Mario Kart"! She squealed happily. I sweat dropped and hung my head. Louis was an awesome teacher, a powerful shadow shinigami, and downright scary when she wanted to be, but even mention a video game and she's squealing worse than a Twi-hard at a movie premiere. I then turned back to Kaien.

"Anyway...Kaien, how did you get to be this way"? I got back to being serious. He sighed and then smiled at us.

"Well when I first reformed I was met with the espada Aaroniero Arruruerie. He'd been sent by Aizen to devour Metesacia and acquire any new abilities that the experimental hollow had obtained while in the Soul Society. But instead of him devouring me, I devoured him". Kaien said with a dark look appearing on his face that showed just how much like a shadow shinigami he'd become, even though he was not one by birth. Nor was he a vizard because his inner hollow wasn't sealed away.

"So you have a mask then, and if you devoured the espada, then that also means that you have a hollow form as well". I assumed out loud. He nodded.

"Yeah. It shocked the hell out of me at first ya know. I mean my mind went all blurry and I really didn't know what I was doing until it was already done. Then after that I heard Metestalkia's voice in my head. At first I thought it had been Metestacia's voice again like when I was dying and heard him screaming out in pain and vowing revenge against Rukia who killed him". At that I saw Rukia flinch.

_'This must bring back some seriously shitty memories'._ I thought to myself, but Kaien still continued on.

"But when I listened again, I felt no aggression unlike when it had been Metesacia. For a while after I entered Hueco Mundo, I wandered around. Testing out my new body and learning about my new mental companion. Then Squad 0 came in the picture. I met with the captain and she offered me a place in the squad. I accepted, tired of being alone. As Rukia already knows very well, I'm a social creature that loves to talk. When I joined I rose through the ranks quickly. You see, when I devoured Aaroniero Arruruerie I managed to aquire his power. For every hollow that I ate, I gained their ability, which is why even though I'm not a born shadow shinigami, I'm still a seated officer". He explained.

"But that doesn't explain why you were sent here to become a spy and with Louis and Piair". I pointed out. He looked at me with a tick mark on his face.

"I was getting to that! Sheesh"! He said with mock anger before continuing, "I became a seated officer in less than a month and after that I returned to Hueco Mundo. This was before Aizen left the Soul Society. When I found out about his betrayal to the Thirteen Court Guard Squads I immediately volunteered for spy duty. Even though there was already an espada group, Aizen wasn't here enough to keep a close eye on his espada so I returned as Aaroniero and blended right in with the others with my transformative abilities from Metesacia".

"Why is your...inner hollow out now though"? Rukia asked timidly, looking at the cold eyed, black haired inner hollow. His eyes were black with red irises and even though he had normal black hair like Kaien, his jawline was covered in swirling green colored estigmas. Even though he had a more relaxed grin on his face than other inner hollows I'd met, his eyes were still steely and purely hollow.

"Because me and Metestalkia are cool. Hell, the only time we even argue is over who gets the last slice of pizza. Isn't that right dude". He said with a cocky grin on his face that reminded me instantly of Ichigo. Hell, he looked almost identical to Ichigo, except for the lower eyelashes and the lack of orange hair. They could almost pass for twins.

"Shut up dude, you know I won fair and square. That last piece was so mine-".

"But then I stole it"! Louis said cheerfully from her spot. Piair snickered from his spot.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Louis and I are together". Kaien said casually. Rukia and I deadpanned at that. I'd never thought that Louis had been with Kaien. She'd always seemed like the player type like Piair, who hit on anything with a size C or bigger chest. Rukia looked at him in complete shock though while I, only with mild surprise.

"But what about your wife who'd been killed by Metestacia"? She asked loudly. He looked at her sadly for a moment.

"No one could take her place in my heart, but with this new life I found that I could love again. Louis has been there for me ever since I joined Squad 0 and I care about her deeply. Which reminds me, has that stubborn Byakuya finally told you about Hisana and has he finally gotten that stick unstuck from up his as"? He asked lightly. Rukia looked at him with a shocked look on his face.

"Yeah. He told her about her after he saved Rukia from Gin after Ichigo and and I stopped her execution". I said with a smirk, "But unfortunately that still will probably never get unlodged". Kaien nodded with a humored smirk on his face, but I saw him twitch ever so slightly which confused me as to why. After a short minute, Rukia recovered enought to speak.

"Yes. Now he actually speaks to me. And actually, it was thanks to him that I even got to come to Hueco Mundo". She said smuggly to me. I rolled my eyes. Kaien then spoke up to Rukia.

"Yeah. I heard that you were to be executed, but I knew I couldn't do anything about it or else give away my presence here among the espadas ranks. I'm glad you made such good friends, and truthfully I never thought I'd get to see any of my old subordinates again. I can tell just by looking at you how much you've gotten stronger and I'm proud of that". He said with a proud smile on his face now. I smiled at Rukia who smiled sadly back at me. Then Louis spoke up.

"I'd like to thank you myself Rukia. If not for what you did that night, I would never have met the love of my life. I know it must have been hard for you though. You had no choice but to either kill your superior officer, or let him be slowly devoured the hollow that had fused with his spiritual body. It's thanks to you that he was given a second chance". She said with a warm smile on her face. I looked to Rukia and could practically see the weights from her past lift off of her shoulders and she smiled back warmly.

"I really don't know what to say. For so long I've lived with my actions. I thought myself a coward for doing what I did. Even though you thanked me when you returned before you died, I still felt like I'd murdered you. I've felt that pain on my chest for so long, but now, for the first time, I know that what I did was the right thing". She smiled as tears dripped down her face. I smiled softly at her, knowing for the first time in a long time the guilt of her past was gone.

She was free.

Me: Well I hope you guys enjoyed that.

Shiva: Not as entertaining as what's coming up though.

Dominique: True dat.

Seraphine: Yeah.

Me: What in the hell are you doing here?! You're not supposed to be here yet! Get back in the idea box! *Shoves her in a tiny black box labled "Future Stuff"*

Dominique and Shiva: ...

Me: Shut up. Oh and I plan to have the next chapter up on time at the end of the month on the 30th. Lets just hope that this time that stupid life don't get in the way.

Shiva: Doctors appointments for ADHD little brothers

Dominique: Internet going out at home.

Shiva: And parents getting all weird about selling stuff at a yard sale for one of the hundred local churches.

Me: Okay guys...SHUT UP NOW!

Shiva and Dominique: ...

Me: Anywho, see yall in the next chapter. Peace! Laters! Sayonara! Aloha! Adios! And all the other goodbyes in all the other languages too! **XD**

Hunger by (No clue but I found it on youtube as an Sword Art Online AMV **:D**)

I GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

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BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	33. Dragon's Cry

Me: Wow! 35 pages of story! Holy crap! This is definitely the longest chapter I've ever written! I hope you guys really enjoy this one, because I went through hell to get it done on time. I couldn't get to a computer for over a week, and for the past week, I'd written well over half of this chapter. I'd stayed up past midnight and then woke back up at six to continue writing. I just finished it this morning so enjoy! I own nothing as you already know.

A big thanks to Koren Flashblade, Adrian92, ultima-owner, Scaehime-KingofKing's Daughter, Dark709, and finally Antex-The Legendary Zoroark for all your awesome reviews!

**Chapter 33: Dragon's Cry**

Kyle's POV

"Come on guys! Stop acting stupid and keep moving"! I told both Renji and Dondochakka as we continued to head down the hallway. Renji had just stopped and looked around as if something spooked him. Then Dondochakka started whining and complaining. I was quickly getting more and more irritated with this and was on the verge of stomping these two idiots out.

"What the hell"?! Renji yelled in surprise. I looked back and saw that Dondochakka had just disappeared down a large hole and now another hole opened up underneath Renji and I both. Renji fell straight down after yelling again, but I pushed the reishi around me under my feet and looked down the dark hole with a sweat drop on my face.

"Seriously. You're supposed to be a soul reaper dude. This is seriously fucked up man". I complained out loud as I released the hold on the reishi under my feet and let myself fall into the dark hole below to follow after Renji.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Rukia's POV

I had to say it. My mind was blown. Seeing not only Kaien alive, but also seeing other shadow shinigami like Dominique, and who were supposedly higher ranked than her from Squad 0 talking calmly while in the middle of enemy territory.

I remembered seeing Dominique and her group along with Ichigo and his sister Nami just yesterday turn from the casual, nearly carefree people I was used to seeing into a pack of shadow shinigami who seemed more like beast than human. Dominique especially seemed intimidating. But the night before when we'd spoken about Squad 0 she'd seemed like a completely different person.

She'd been calm, understanding, and what I'd grown to know her as for the longest time. But then when she snapped at the Head Captain she'd done a complete 180. Her voice had taken on a dark menacing tone, and her posture had been like that of a predator.

What had really been strange was when she'd gone crazy inside that inner world that we'd been stuck in. She'd acted like Rangiku Matsumoto when she drank a lot of sake, only she had been super strong at the time as well.

But at least now she was back to the way she'd been before. She was joking around with the man whom I'd thought I'd killed over forty years ago.

Not only was Lieutenant Kaien Shiba alive, but he was also in Squad 0. He was alive, talking, laughing, and making jokes. He was the same man I'd known before, and yet he wasn't. Metestalkia was part of that difference. Even though he seemed to act similar to Kaien, his personality reflected cold instead of the warmth that Kaien gave off. And even then, Kaien wasn't the same as before either.

The way he held himself was more like a predator, like Dominique did. The way he spoke was even more casual than what it had been forty years ago, just like Dominique. And even the way he smiled was filled with something that seemed more like...well I didn't really know how to describe it. One couldn't really notice it unless you knew him before he was like this. There was a certain hardness to him that showed just how different he'd become.

"So guys. Have any secrets that might help us out here in this war"? Dominique asked with a smirk on her face. The woman Louis and her inner hollow Piair looked at Dominique with a sinister look on their faces. Even Kaien and his inner hollow Metestalkia smirked at her.

"Yep. We got all sorts of information". Louis said with a leer on her face. Dominique looked back at her with a sneer on her own face.

"So, what's this info gonna cost me"? She said as if making a deal with some merchant.

"I want the usual gossip from the barracks... Let's see...oh and I want some personal info on you and your boyfriend". She said with an evil cackle. Dominique sighed as she hung her head.

"And we also wanna see how much you've gotten better. So we wanna see how you'd fare against Kaien in his fused state"! Piair cheered enthusiastically. Dominique looked at them in complete shock, and for a second I'd figured that they'd meant to the death or something.

"Seriously?! You jerks! You know I kind of need to save up as much energy as I can to fight against the freaking espadas here"! She yelled at the four of them with a tic mark on her forehead. Nami laughed loudly and I just sat there quietly as they bantered back and forth.

"You're a section leader, you can handle it. And besides, technically you will be fighting an espada". Piair said.

"You've got what, two gentei reiins now? This should be nothing but a warm up for the likes of you". Louis said.

"Shut up! How about I kick yall's asses"! Dominique yelled at the two of them.

"Wouldn't that be even harder than fighting me then"? Kaien asked with a smile on his face while Metestalkia snickered at his side. Dominique turned to glare at him before puttering. Her head fell forward and she groaned in defeat.

"Fine. But the information comes first". Dominique said while glaring at the four of them. I looked over at Nami and she was smiling at them.

"This is gonna be good. I've only ever seen one shadow shinigami battle before. And I missed Dominique's leaders match because Kisuke made me stay at the shop. Now I get to see her in action for reals"! Nami said excitedly. I personally didn't know whether to be excited, worried, or just plain confused. I decided to just listen in as they shared their information.

"Hey did you two know that Dominique here has a bit of a reputation in Squad 0"? Louis asked Nami and I. We both looked at her and shook our heads. I'd known she was a section leader and that she protected a specific area in the World of the living, but not much else.

"Yeah. Dominique here is quite famous among most of the shadow shinigami. She's gotten the nickname; the White Shadow Dragon". Piair explained. That confused me. A dragon?

"She's gotten that name because she's pretty dang ruthless in battle, not to mention her hollow states". Louis said again.

"Yeah. Louis told me a lot about her when she was in the Academy. Her record is 137 battles total since she joined the squad. 131 battle victories, three losses, and three ties. For someone so young in the squad. It's unusual to see such a perfect record". Kaien said with a smirk in his voice. I looked at Dominique who had a blush on her face and was looking down in embarrassment.

"I'm nothing special. It's just that a bunch of noobies challenged me last year and that's why I got so many wins". She said as she scratched the back of her head.

"But the only people you've lost to are Marlow, who's not only an ex-section leader, but also an ex-captain. Then there was Zork and Rose. Not to mention you tied with Louis and Piair when you were still in the Academy. Johnathan right after you became section 13's leader and I'd seen the recording where you kicked his ass last month, and then you tied with third seats Ren and Kenji eight months ago". Metestalkia said as he smirked at Dominique. Dominique could only blush at the praise.

"And that's not the only reason she got that nickname. She's the only shadow shinigami in all of Squad 0 to have a total of four hollow states". Louis said with pride in her voice.

"Yeah, her regular mask, her half hollow state, full hollow, and then finally her vasto lorde state". Piair counted off.

"It's rare for a shadow shinigami to have two states, and even rarer to have three, but Dominique ended up with four complete hollowfication stages". Louis said. Dominique then spoke up.

"Can we please just get on with the information about the espadas. Oh and I'm not telling you about my relationship. If you want dirt on that then you'll have to go find the gossipers in the barracks". Dominique told her Louis who snickered.

"Fine. I'll just go ask Rose. Since she knows everything that goes on in the squad". She said knowingly. Dominique groaned and the others all laughed at her expense.

"Okay then. Well as you guys have probably already found out, the espada are marked from 1 to 10 right"? Piair asked seriously as the others continued to calm down. All three of us nodded before Louis spoke up.

"Well that's wrong. It isn't from 1 to 10. It's from 0 to 9. Yammy Llargo is the both the tenth and the zero espada". Louis said with a serious expression on her face. Dominique looked at her, confused.

"How's that. How can he be both the strongest, and the weakest"? She asked. Kaien spoke up.

"His number changes when he goes into his release state. He's the only one of the espadas who has to power up for his ressurection. Eating, sleeping, and other stuff. After he releases his zanpakuto, he's supposed to become this huge dinosaur looking thing. Humongous size, although very slow". Kaien explained.

"Well then I should easily be able to run circles around him in my bankai state. Heck, Ichigo was able to chop off his arm in their very first encounter in the World of the Living". Dominique said with pride in her voice.

"Yeah we know. Ulquiorra has this freaky ability to pull one of his eyes out of his head and crush it. Thereby sending the information that he's collected to anyone in the room with him. Pretty much a self-mutilating report. By the way, very nice job on stopping Yammy's cero with not only a dislocated arm, but also pouring buckets of blood from the head wound you'd gotten". Metestalkia said with a smirk on his face. Dominique looked confused again before shaking her head, dismissing the praise.

"He must have a higher form of instant regeneration, cause the last time I saw him he had both his eyes". Dominique said as she pointed to her own eye.

"Yes. That's one of his more annoying abilities. His instant regeneration applies to everything but his internal organs and his brain. And he's ranked number 4 among the espada, so he's very strong as well". Kaien explained.

"So let me get this straight. From what we've heard here and what we've seen ourselves. Yammy's ranked 10 and 0. You're ranked 9, Louis and Piair were ranked 6, but Grimmjow's back to being 6 again. And Ulquiorra's number 4. That about right so far"? Nami asked with a surprisingly serious tone.

"Yeah. Then there's this crazy pink haired espada-". Dominique cut Louis off.

"Szayelaporro Grantz. The eighth espada. I'd almost forgotten about that bastard". Dominique said with a growl, looking more like how she'd looked yesterday. The four spies looked at her in surprise.

"Yeah. How did you know about him though"? Kaien asked. Then Dominique explained what had happened while we were in the Menos Forest. By the time she was finished explaining, Kaien and Metestalkia looked confused, while Louis and Piair looked completely shocked.

"Bree... You do realize that she's the Guardian of Hueco Mundo"? Louis said seriously. Now it was Dominique's turn to look confused.

"But how. Before she disappeared she had been an unawakened soul eater. That was it". Dominique said with a shake of her head.

"How did she disappear"? Piair asked.

"Apparently she traveled back in time according to Kisuke Urahara". Dominique explained.

"Yeah. The thing is though, she didn't travel back in time just once. She traveled a second time. But this time it was much farther back. She traveled back to the beginning of our kind". Louis told her. Dominique gasped in shock.

"Was she one of-"? Piair cut her off.

"No. But her power was what allowed the first ten shadow shinigami to banish the hollows to Hueco Mundo. She was the one who created Hueco Mundo herself. And also, the very first vasto lorde". Piair said. Dominique looked at them in shock. I was quite shocked myself. That being from before, Bree, was the one who created this world of darkness and sand.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Ulquiorra's POV

"I'm coming in". I said as I entered the woman's cell. She was staring out the barred window at the moon. The only illumination in the whole room. She turned to look at me with a defensive look on her face.

"You've sensed it haven't you"? I asked her before continuing to speak, "That idiot Nnoitora got impatient. He was ordered to wait in his palace". I said with the slightest note of distain in my voice. She spoke up in a voice that was quiet, yet at the same time determined.

"Chad's not dead". She said seriously. I looked off to the side to peer at the couch at the other side of the room. Then she spoke again, "I know he's not". It was as if she was trying to reassure herself that her friend was not dead. I looked at her, while keeping my head turned to the left. I was about to say something to her, but then I heard the sound of the food tray approaching the door. The arrancar that had been bringing her food entered the room with her meal after I told him to enter.

"It's food. Eat". I told her.

"I'm not hungry". She said in the same tone as before. I mentally sighed.

"It's your duty to maintain your health until Lord Aizen summons you. Eat". I told her again. She looked away so I spoke up again, "Unless you want me to shove it down your throat or strap you down and feed you intravenously". I told her. I had no qualms about doing either action if she refused to keep her health in check.

"Chad isn't dead". She said once more.

"That's enough. It doesn't matter in the slightest whether he's dead or alive". I told her before continuing, "What do you want me to say? Don't worry. I'm sure he's still alive? Nonsense. I'm not here to comfort you". As I said this a dark look appeared on her face. For some strange reason it unsettled me.

"...". She didn't say anything, but that look remained. I began to speak again.

"I don't understand. What difference does it make if he's alive or dead". I paused when she looked up at me with a fearful look on her face, "One way or another, all your friends will die soon. One of them just happened to die sooner than the others". I told her seriously.

"Stop". She whispered, almost inaudible.

"You must have known this was coming".

"Stop". She said again with a slightly stronger tone in her voice, but I continued on.

"If you didn't then you're a fool. And your friends are foolhardy clowns. Can't you see that? If I were in your place, I'd be disgusted with them for rushing into Hueco Mundo. Like lambs to the slaughter". I said, trying to make her understand. Then she ran at me. I could have easily stopped her, but I was interested in seeing what she'd do. Her hand lifted up and slapped me sharply across my left cheek. The strength behind her blow, although only human strength was powerful enough to send my face turning to the right.

I looked to the right for a moment, slightly dazed that she would attack me. Even though she knew that I could obliterate her in an instant. I then moved only my eyes to look at her. There were unshed tears pooling in her eyes, but a look of rage was on her face. That same feeling from earlier returned. This time not so easily squashed down, but I did. I then turned to leave the room, leaving her there, panting from her anger and anguish.

"I'll be back in an hour. If you haven't eaten by then...then I'll tie you down and force feed you. Count on it". I told her as I shut her door behind me. I paused a moment at her door though, listening. I heard her sobs through the door. These friends of hers needed to be eliminated...so I decided that's what I would do. I turned to walk down the hallway, moving towards the strongest feeling reiatsu in the area.

And a familiar one at that.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Kyle's POV

I was surrounded by complete darkness until I saw a small pinpoint of light that grew bigger with every second. I readied myself and was suddenly dropped into a huge room. I'd landed on top of Dondochakka's head, and saw a thing of red hair below him, showing that he was sitting on top of Renji. Un-intentional dog-pile. I looked down at the two of them, who were apparently arguing about Renji being squished.

"Hey guys. What's up"? I asked as Renji glared at me from his spot underneath Dondochakka. He leaped up and caused me to almost fall off of Dondochakka's head, but I managed to stay on, and then Renji kicked him in the eye.

"Ow! What was that for"!? Dondochakka yelled at Renji who was holding his foot as if in pain.

"Shut up! Or I'll kick you again! Geeze your face is hard". He said that last part mostly to himself.

"Is your comedy routine over"? Another voice sounded. I looked up from the two idiot's antics and saw a pink haired espada. Szayelaporro Grantz, the eighth espada. The one whom the two shadow shinigamis from earlier had faced against while in the inner world of the Guardian. Looks like Dominique won't be getting the revenge she swore she'd get. I'd have this guy done in quickly.

Both Renji and I glared at the espada. He looked at us sheepishly and held up his hands in an appeasing way. I could see right through it though. I'd seen that face on many liars.

"Whoa. Those are some scary looks you all are giving me. Relax. I may be an espada, but I'm not much of a fighter. Like the large one said earlier, I'm a scientist. I-". Renji cut him off before I could. And I'd had a really good smart ass retort saved up. I glared at Renji as he spoke.

"Stop. I didn't come here to chat. I came here to kill you. I don't need your resume, but go on ahead and talk. I'll just cut you down where you stand. Bankai"! He yelled the last part as he went into his bankai state. He became surrounded by what looked like a snake's skull attached to over a hundred bone-like segments. "Hihio-"! He yelled before his bankai shattered and vanished. I looked at him in shock.

_'How'd his bankai vanish just like that'? _I thought to myself as I turned to look at Szayelaporro who was smirking at us.

"What? What the hell just happened"? Renji said out loud in disbelief.

"You didn't let me finish. In this room, you can't perform bankai". Szayelaporro said with a knowing smile on his face. I looked down at my own blade that was still in its sheath. I also felt that my kittens; Tubasaneko and Yukineko were still asleep in my pockets. These two kittens were not really cats from the world of the living. They were a part of me.

Tubasaneko was a fragmentation of Black Kyle's soul, while Yukineko was a fragment of my soul. I was one of only a small handful of half souls, and thanks to the abuse I'd received from my human family as a child, my soul was damaged from all the physical and emotional pain. Normally, the only way to get Black Kyle to even think about not going on a rampage and destroying everything in her path was to get the kittens out.

She, like me, was a sucker for kitties. The two kittens had been with me since I'd first discovered my powers when I was sixteen. But that was a long time ago. Heck, I didn't even know how old I was because of all the blackouts and the passing years. Although I'd kept track well enough for the past fifty years or so. Still, it was confusing as fuck sometimes.

I was brought out of my thoughts with the sound of the gay looking espada laughing to himself. I smirked as Renji said that he couldn't preform bankai to himself, as if he couldn't believe it. I then stepped forward.

"So what if he can't perform bankai. I can"! I said as I unsheathed my blade. I'd finish off this fucker and enjoy myself while doing it. Hell, he was one of the reasons why I was here. My group's here to kill all the espadas...well except for a few. Especially a certain someone in my case. The espada in front of me looked at me with a smirk still on his face.

"Oh really"? He asked in a superior tone. I smirked.

"Yes really. Bankai! Nakushita Kodomo (Lost Child)"! I yelled as my power rose up around me. My wings appeared, but my scythe didn't. Instead a pair of orange ears, an orange and black striped tail, and wickedly curved claws appeared on my body. I was now a Neko-matta with black angel wings. Instead of having some huge sword or special extra skill, my bankai's power went into my speed, senses, agility, and physical strength. I smirked as I flexed my wings.

But then everything disappeared. My ears, tail, claws, and wings all vanished just like how Renji's bankai did earlier. I looked down at my re-sealed zanpakuto in shock.

_'How could he have done that'? _ I could understand the soul reaper's bankai getting undone, but mine? The man laughed at me, causing me to growl. I could feel Black Kyle coming towards the surface as my anger rose, but I kept it down, and kept her gagged. I so didn't want to have Black Kyle come out twice in one day. I glared at him darkly.

"Okay then. So you sealed up my bankai and his, so what. We can still kick your ass with shikai". I said smugly. Szayelaporro looked at me with a smug look on his face as well before he spoke.

"I suppose you're wondering how I'm able to seal your bankai"? He asked. I glared.

"Not really". I said, but he continued to talk.

"I've spied on you using my Rokureichu. The man who'd you killed in the World of the living was my brother". Szayelaporro said as he looked at Renji.

"Who"? Renji asked.

"I'll give you a hint. What was my name again? Szayelaporro Grantz. Illfort Grantz was my older brother". He said with a smirk on his face. Renji looked at him for a moment before speaking.

"So you're here to avenge him or something"? Renji asked. Szayelaporro shook his head.

"Oh of course not. Why would I? As I was treating his wounds I collected the data on your bankai and style of fighting from the parasitic Rokureichu I implanted all over his body. He was just a box carrying the Rokureichu for me. And I'm much to mature to get mad over a broken box". He said as he looked up towards the ceiling before continuing, "And of course you should know that if you're going to be camping out in the back yard of the enemy that the enemy would be watching you". He said that last part to me. I'd suspected as much, but didn't really care.

"You're a fool". Renji said darkly towards Szayelaporro.

"And your comments continue to confirm my judgment. You're stupidity is mind-boggling. Oh well. Neither of you can win nor escape. Don't move. This is the first time I've faced against anyone who can perform bankai. This is all quite exciting for me. So please don't struggle more than necessary. I want to keep your corpses intact". He said as he drew his blade.

Dominique's POV

I stretched my muscles, which were stiff after sitting like that for so long, in preparation for the fight I was about to enter. Kaien explained that when he was in his fused state he could broadcast what he was experiencing to the other espada, and anyone else who was his "Ally" here. Although he could turn it off when he pleased, he wanted to broadcast our fight to the enemy.

I didn't know what he was planning, but whatever it was, I felt like it would most likely end with me killing him or something. Since he was a shadow shinigami, he knew how to use shadow clones, so I would have to keep an eye out for the moment he'd use a shadow clone, then kill it. But until then, I'd make this fight look juicy and realistic.

Rukia and Nami were to stay out of this fight. This had two reasons behind this rule. One was that it would be easier to control the situation in a one on one fight, and two, when I finished the fight, another espada would be likely to show up to finish them off when one of their own "Died". Then we'd take down anybody who came and showed their faces here if they're an enemy.

I looked at Kaien as he fused with Metestalkia into Aaroniero. He began walking up towards the pillar where we'd first entered the room. And for some strange reason, I heard a swishing sound as he walked. Like some sort of liquid in a container. I got curious. Before Aaroniero got to the pillar though I spoke up.

"Hey dude"! I said loudly to get his attention. He paused and looked back at me, the swishing sound picking up again. I then continued, "Louis said something about your real face in this form. I wanna see it". I said to him. He paused a moment, contemplating what I asked before speaking up.

"I don't think that's best. I don't particularly like that face". He said in first a deep male voice and then a higher pitched almost female sounding voice. Which was weird. I shook my head.

"Don't care. Besides. I wanna know where that watery sound's coming from". I said with a smile on my face.

"Fine then. Don't say I didn't warn you though". The two voices said before he lifted up the mask on his face. What was revealed was a large tube filled with some sort of pink fluid. And floating in the pink fluid were two round looking balls. Except that they weren't balls, they were masked heads, both with the number nine tattooed on them. I felt a small shudder run through me.

_'Well that certainly explains why Kaien doesn't like that face'._ Shiva commented.

_'Faces'._ I corrected her.

_'Whatever'._ She said before going silent again.

"Nice. Definitely espada-ey. Now when are you gonna start the broadcast"? I asked lightly after I drew my Zangetsu". He...err, they looked at me for a moment before a bubbly goop appeared on the side of the tank and then seemed to grow on it and quickly devoured the liquid filled tank. Then the goop began to solidify and then turned into Kaien's face.

_'Cool. But still freaky as hell'._ I thought to myself as I began settling into my fighting stance.

"In thirty seconds". Kaien said as he also drew a sword, seemingly from thin air.

"Good. Let's get this party started already". I said as I raised my blade to the ninth seat of Squad 0.

Nami's POV

This was so exciting! I would get to watch Dominique fight against a higher ranked shadow shinigami. I'd been bummed before when I couldn't go to her leaders match at the Squad 0 Barracks, but now I'd get to watch a real shadow shinigami vs. shadow shinigami battle. Even though it probably wasn't the best time or place for one, but still! This was going to be an awesome fight!

Dominique stood at the ready, facing towards Kaien as he tossed the mask he'd removed earlier behind him. Both Rukia and I moved off to the side, but still remained within the room while sixth seat Louis and Piair both left the room through a door in one of the many pillars in the room. I turned to look back at Dominique and Kaien.

Time was up.

"Well. Looks like one of you doesn't seem to think that I'm the real Kaien". Kaien said with a superior tone. I looked at Dominique in confusion, but noticed the slightest uplift on her lips.

"I'm sorry, but shape shifting isn't all that uncommon an ability espada". Dominique said arrogantly. That was when I understood. They were acting! Hehe. I looked over at Rukia who was looking at them in confusion. I bent down while Kaien's attention was on Dominique and whispered in Rukia's ear.

"They're acting. Play along. Look worried and stuff. We gotta be good actresses too". I giggled before making my face look confused again with a hint of worry and fear on it. Rukia did the same, but her confusion was real though. I was bouncing on the inside though. This was just all so fun and exciting.

"Rukia. Please tell your friend that I'm the real Kaien Shiba, lieutenant of Squad 13. After all, you of all people should know who I am right"? He said while looking at Rukia and I. I poked her in the side when she hesitated a second too long.

"I-I don't know. You look like him...but Dominique's right. I've seen hollows that can change shape". She stuttered out. That was when I spoke up.

"I believe Dominique! After all Rukia killed you forty years ago right? You'd been devoured by a hollow". I spoke with suspicion in my voice. Dominique laughed.

"You see espada. You're mind games are nothing. Really. It was a pathetic attempt at deception". Dominique said with a sneer. Kaien then looked at her a moment before his face began to bubble and then turned back into the weird tank thing from before.

"I see then. I should have suspected nothing less from the likes of a shadow shinigami. So perhaps I should introduce myself properly. We are the ninth espada Aaroniero Arruruerie"! The two weird opposite voices said as they floated in the weird liquid in the tank.

"Well then Aaroniero. Prepare to die". Dominique said as she leaped up into the air. Kaien quickly put his human face back on and then charged at Dominique as well. His blade clashed with hers, making a metallic sound ring through the closed palace. At first it seemed like they were even, but then Dominique seemed to double her efforts and sent Kaien hurtling to the ground.

Then she sent herself flying towards the ground after him. Her speed cut through the suspended dust and debris and their clashing reiatsus completely cleared it away as they collided again. After a short second they flew away from each other. Kaien twirled his blade in his hand.

"Rage over the seas and heavens. Nejibana"! He called his zanpakuto's shikai as the blade turned into a large trident with a corkscrew spear at the base and what looked like blue fur or hair just below the three blades at the top. Kaien smirked and the two of them charged at each other once more.

Dominique's POV

He came at me differently than before. Before it had been normal swordplay, but now his movements were more like he was dancing. He held his weapon high and spun it around, sort of like how I did when I used the hilt wrap on my Zangetsu in battle. When he'd attack, he'd go to slash or stab me with the trident part and then he would suddenly send a force of water-like reiatsu crashing down on me.

This was really a more interesting battle. He'd came at me again with his spear and I twisted my body just enough to dodge the three blades, although it managed to slice through a small portion of my shihakusho. I retaliated by using the momentum of my movements to continue spinning in the air. I released the hold on Zangetsu's hilt and sent it soaring towards Kaien. But just as it was about to make contact though he dodged out of the way with sonido.

I quickly grabbed the hilt wrap and jerked the blade back towards me. As the blade hurtled towards me, seemingly about to stab through me, I ducked down and let it continue to fly behind me. I heard a satisfying clang as Kaien was forced to use his spear to block my incoming sword. I glanced back and sure enough, he'd been coming up behind me for an ambush while I was in midair and my movement limited.

I got my legs back under me as I landed back on the ground. Now that we'd had some clashes, it was now time for some more acting.

"Are you really an espada? I mean come on. That arrancar that I took down in the World of the living was a bigger challenge than you". I said smugly. Even though he knew it was just acting, I saw his right fist clench ever so slightly tighter on his trident. He definitely had the pride of a shadow shinigami that's for sure.

"Did you know that out of all the espadas, I'm the only Gillian". He said as he rested the trident on his shoulders. I cocked my head to the side in confusion. Where was he going with this?

"So"? I said.

"A Gillian doesn't possess the strength to become an espada. And yet here I am one. I was given the number nine. Do you know why that is"? He asked.

"Because you got a big mouth and talked your way in? Wait. I'm sorry, two mouths". I threw the little smart remark out there with a chuckle. I saw a tic mark appear on Kaien's head for a moment before he got back into his little speech.

"Because I'm the only arrancar with unlimited evolutionary potential! My spirit entity fusion ability originally belonged to Metestacia whom Kaien Shiba fought. And then when his body returned to Hueco Mundo I devoured it! My ability is known as Glutoneria. It's the ability to consume hollows and take their reiatsu and abilities for myself". He sneered at me before looking at Rukia

_'He definitely plays the bad guy part well'._ I thought, impressed by his acting skills.

"I acquired this power by eating Metestacia who possessed Kaien Shiba"! I spoke up so Rukia wouldn't have to get involved.

"So that's really-"? He cut me off.

"Yes! This really is Kaien Shiba's spiritual body. It contains all its thoughts, experiences, and memories. I just have to simply read and act on them! But unfortunately you saw through my plan you stupid shadow shinigami". He sneered at me. I smirked.

"Well it's kind of obvious anyway. When a Soul Society born soul reaper dies, they can't just come back to life with all their memories intact. It's physically impossible". I said, even though it was partly untrue. Kaien really did come back, although he'd changed species in the process of coming back. So technically I was right anyway, and also technically wrong too. Kaien looked down for a moment before smirking back at me.

"Oh well. Since my original plan failed, I guess I'll just have to show you the release of an espada". He said as he fell into a relaxed stance.

_'I wonder if his release state will look anything like Luppi's'._ I thought to myself randomly.

"Devour her, Glutoneria". As he said this a massive amount of purple goo exploded from his body. It seemed to grow larger as it writhed. When the withering stopped, what was left was a huge smiling purple blob of goo. It sort of reminded me of what an elephant and an octopus would look like if you put them together. The huge goo body smiled at me from beneath it's huge tentacles.

I also saw what looked to me like zits on its forehead, but were in face the moaning and screaming faces of hollows as they futilely tried to escape from the body they'd been imprisoned in. And higher up than the zit-faces was Kaien's body...well half of it anyways. The lower half seemed to be either submerged in the goo monster, or it was the goo monster itself.

_'Wow. This ressurection definitely ranks up there in the freaky scale'._ Shiva commented.

_'I don't think freaky is a strong enough word for this thing. More like fucked up'._ I threw in.

_'True dat'._ She agreed. At least Luppi's ressurection looked more refined and actually hollow like. This just looked like someone messed around with a chemistry set and a squid and ended up making some new mutant critter.

"I commend you for not showing your fear on your face". He said. I didn't know whether to agree for the sake of acting, or to snap at him. I mean, I'm a shadow shinigami too, I have some serious pride as well. That and the only things that have really ever scared me were snakes and spiders. And I got over my fear of snakes a long time ago when I became a dragon, and spiders...well, they don't scare me, but you can keep them as far away from me as possible.

This form of his wasn't really all that scary. Freaky? Yes. Gross? Hell yeah. Funny looking? Definitely. I'd probably rag on him about his gooey mutant melted elephant/octopus form later. Kaien then began to speak again.

"I plan to have you screaming by the time this is over with"! He said as he raised his hands up in the air. I sweat dropped.

_'That so didn't sound right'. _I thought to myself, the desire to face palm myself was strong, but I kept it down. Did he not realize what he just said? I mean seriously, that phrase sounded so wrong.

"Do not mistake the release of an espada with that of a common arrancar"! He yelled down at me as he reached into the goo body and pulled out his zanpakuto from the viscous flesh. And since that comment he'd made earlier, my mind was remaining in the gutter. Great, from now on when I see his ressurection state, I won't be able to keep a straight face after this fight. Then again, Shiva wasn't helping much either.

_'Release...hehe'._ She snickered. I sweat dropped again and tried to keep myself focused on the fight since this was where I'd start off the plan. This was gonna be good.

_'Please shut up'._ I snapped at her. Kaien kept on speaking, unaware of my internal conversation.

"Glutoneria can employ the abilities of all of my victims simultaneously! And I've devoured a total of 33,650 hollows"! He said with pride in his voice. Another sweat drop appeared on my head. At this rate I was sure to become dehydrated from the amount of times this guy makes me sweat drop.

_'He actually keeps count of that'?_ I thought to myself skeptically. Who the heck keeps count of the hollows they devour. I'd stopped after my hundredth one or so. By that time, I just didn't give a damn anymore.

"How about you just shut up so we can fight already. Unless you plan on boring me to death with the lecture on how amazing your ability is". I said sarcastically as I twisted my Zangetsu in the air using the hilt wrap. Kaien had another tic mark appear on his face, but this time he didn't let it go.

"Take this"! He yelled as several of the tentacles of his goo body rose up and pointed at me. Hundreds of bright multicolored lights began glowing on the tentacles. I recognized them as ceros. There were well over a hundred of them, and they were all pointed at me. I stopped twirling my blade and brought it back to me in time to activate my bankai.

Just as the ceros fired at me I used my freshly transformed Tensa Zangetsu to send off a huge Getsugatensho at the ceros. The Getsugatensho and the cero's that were aimed directly at me collided and exploded before they could hit me. I then used the smoke as cover and began running towards Kaien's released state body. I ran low to the ground, using the smoke to conceal me for as long as possible until I was nearly at the goo body. I then lunged forward and slashed my blade through three of the tentacles closest to me.

I heard a loud snarl and was satisfied by the sound, but then I realized that this was supposed to be a fake fight. I decided to go ahead and implement the plan. I'd give Kaien the signal and then the situation would go on from there.

Rukia's POV

Watching these two fight was something else. After Kaien changed into his ressurection, I'd felt freaked out for a moment, but as usual Dominique lightened the mood with her snappy comments and remarks.

Dominique leaped up into the air and began moving at high speed around Kaien, while still avoiding the waving tentacles and other various weapons that were thrown at her. Then she suddenly stopped moving, but there were three Dominique's now standing in the air. Each of them had smirks on their faces.

"Whatcha gonna do now espada"? The three Dominiques asked smugly.

"Oh just this". Kaien said as a large pincer stabbed through the chest of one of the Dominiques. I gasped in shock, thinking that he'd killed her, only to see the Dominique that he'd pierced disappear in a cloud of black smoke. The remaining two Dominiques continued to smirk.

"Wrong one dude. That was your only freebee. Now it's my turn". The two remaining Dominiques said at the same time before they began slashing at the huge jelly-like body. A cero ended up catching one of the remaining Dominiques, and that one also disappeared in a cloud of black smoke as well.

"Aha! Now time to finish you off"! Kaien yelled as he used his remaining tentacles to force the real Dominique up towards his upper body. She dodged them expertly. Weaving through and cutting off the ones that got too close to her. It actually looked like some elaborate dance. Then several tentacles came at her at the same time. She used her Getsugatensho to blast them away, but when she turned around Kaien stabbed her in the chest with his Nejibana.

Only this time, she didn't disappear. Blood poured down the handle of the spear and she coughed up blood as she tried to grip the handle of the zanpakuto. Both Nami and I gasped. This time he'd really killed her. We went to move forward, but I found that my body was locked up in some sort of kido.

"What the hell's going on"?! I yelled. Kaien looked down at me with such a demonic look on his face that it didn't even seem like it was his face anymore.

"Did you seriously think I'd let you two get away. After I'm finished with this shadow shinigami, I'll be coming to finish you off". He sneered at me. I felt my blood run cold. Was all that earlier just a lie? Did we walk into an elaborate trap? But Dominique...

"I ain't dead yet espada". Came Dominique's weak voice as she raised her zanpakuto, "Die"! She screamed hoarsely as she threw the zanpakuto at high speed directly into Kaien's face. It hit directly in his forehead and stuck there up to the hilt with the rest of the blade coming out the back of his head. His human face melted off and turned back into the tank with the two hollow heads in it. Then the huge jelly body exploded in a wave of liquidy goo. Dominique fell harshly to the floor.

Then suddenly I was able to move. Both Nami and I ran forward to Dominique. I fell to my knees and kneeled by her, hoping to try and save her. She looked up at me with blood dribbling from her mouth and the broken zanpakuto still sticking out of her chest. She smiled at me.

"Don't worry Dominique. Don't you die". I told her as I began using the strongest healing kido I knew. She continued to smile.

"Gotcha". She said as she disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

"Uhh"? Was what came from both Nami and I.

"Oh man that was awesome"! Came Dominique's voice from behind us. Both Nami and I turned around and saw Dominique standing there, perfectly fine. The only hint that she'd been in a battle was the rip in her shihakusho from early on in the battle. Other than that, she was perfectly okay. Kaien then walked out from the side, back in his regular soul reaper outfit, followed by Metestalkia, Louis, and Piair.

"Nice fighting there girl. We'll definitely have to have an official match later". Kaien said to Dominique with a warm smile on his face.

"Sure thing". She said as they shook on it. I repeated my question from earlier.

"What the hell's going on"? This time I asked instead of yelled. Kaien looked at me and smiled sheepishly.

"Well me and Dominique came up with the idea to 'kill' each other during the fight. So while Dominique was blurring everything up with her bankai's ability, both of us created shadow clones". Kaien explained.

"I made two that would easily disappear, then I had the last one be able to last and to take damage before disappearing. But man oh man, give me a bit of warning next time you go to stab one of my clones in the chest. That shit still hurts me ya know". She grimaced at Kaien. He laughed.

"Well Luppi had Grimmjow's hand run through his chest, and then the top half of his body blasted off with a cero. Louise could deal with it, so I figured so could you". He said with a smirk. She slapped him upside the head. I believe I heard her call it a Gibbs Slap once. She did that to Ichigo a lot, especially when I first came to Karakura town.

"But how come your reiatsu is completely gone"? I asked. Even though she was here, right in front of me, I couldn't detect a trace of her reiatsu at all. It was like she didn't even exist. She lifted up her hand and showed a small bracelet. It was silver and has some strange markings on it than I'd never seen before.

"It's a special bracelet from Squad 0 that allows me to completely hide my reiatsu, although this one doesn't have the full features that the others have, this one's good enough". She said as she twirled it around her wrist playfully.

"Ohh! I heard about those. The newer ones can not only hide your reiatsu, but can also turn you invisible to everyone except others who are wearing the same bracelet as you. The newer ones are really hard to get cause of the rare metal that they're made of, but the one you're wearing is quite commonly used in covert operations in Squad 0 right"? Nami asked with a curious look on her face. Her brown eyes glowing behind her glasses.

"Yeah. I got this one last year, but I've never really seen the need to get the other one. I'm good enough at hiding that I don't need it. I just needed to hide my reiatsu for a little while". She explained with a shrug. Kaien then spoke up and showed a bracelet on his wrist. Then the other three shadow shinigami did the same thing. I hadn't even noticed that they were wearing them up until now. I mentally chastised myself for my lack of focus.

"Hey Kaien, do you guys have any supplies that can recharge my reiatsu. I'm seriously close to having to open one of my gentei reiins". Dominique said as she walked over to Kaien.

"Yep. Got some emergency rations from the barracks a couple of months ago". Louis said as she walked to one of the pillars. She opened a door in one of them just like how Kaien did to get the cushions out earlier. She pulled out what looked like a silver bag and opened it before pulling out a tube of what looked like purple pills. Then she opened it and then tossed one of the pills to Dominique.

"I've never seen these pills before. What are they"? Dominique asked while looking at the purple pill curiously.

"The newest batch of reiatsu booster pills. Emergency stuff ya know. We've actually been testing them, and so far they work great. The guys at Research and Development really knew what they were doing with these. Although it's not perfect, it works. For someone of your strength though, it'll probably bring you back up to three fourths strength if you're at less than half". She explained to Dominique.

"Good. Then I'll be almost back to full strength then. Hey, can I get a couple more for the other guys? I have a feeling we're going to need some soon". Dominique asked.

"Sure". Kaien said before pulling out a small drawstring bag from the larger silver storage bag. He poured several of the pills in the bag and then tossed it to Dominique as well.

"Thanks dude". She said.

"Okay then. We all might as well chill out for a moment and keep a feel out for the other fights while hoping that Aizen doesn't show his ugly face around here anytime soon". Piair said as he flopped back down onto a cushion with a loud sigh. I also sat down. Not only to replay what just happened in my head, but also to ready myself mentally for the upcoming battles.

Ichigo's POV

_'Dominique'!_ I mentally yelled as I felt her reiatsu disappear. I looked up and then noticed another presence near my group. After focusing so intently on Dominique's fight I hadn't noticed the familiar reiatsu coming closer.

"So you've noticed. I thought you were just a boy with a large amount of reiatsu. But it turns out that you have acute senses as well". Came the monotone voice from our right. I looked over and saw a set of stairs that led up to a doorway. And in that doorway, Ulquiorra was standing there. My eyes widened as I remembered the encounters I'd had with him before

"You"! I said in shock.

"It's been a while...soul reaper". He said as he looked down at me from the doorway.

"Ulquiorra". I growled.

"You remember my name. I don't remember introducing myself to you". He said as he walked down the steps, "Anyway. Dominique Kudo is dead".

"No".

"Actually, her and the ninth espada killed each other. A trident was thrust into her chest. She's quite dead. I growled again, this time more pissed.

"That's a lie. It's just a drop in her reiatsu. And anyway, you didn't fight her so you-". He cut me off.

"Ninshiki Doki. It was one of the ninth espada's abilities and one of his duties. He could instantly relay data about any enemy he was facing to his allies". After he said that I turned away from him and continued to walk down the hallway to where I last felt Dominique's reiatsu.

_'I've got to get to her'._ I thought to myself. I knew she was still alive. A wound like that wouldn't kill her.

_'She's been through much worse'._ Hichigo commented. I totally agreed with him this time. He was just as worried as I was.

"Where are you going"? Ulquiorra asked. I didn't turn around when I answered.

"I'm going to save Dominique". I told him.

"I told you she's dead".

"I don't give a damn what you say. She's not dead". I nearly snarled at him. My temper was rising, but I kept myself in check. He hadn't done anything to me yet, he hadn't attack, nor had he been the one to fight Dominique. He didn't concern me as of yet. Later maybe, but right now getting to Dominique and making sure she was alright was what was important.

"Have it your way then, but shouldn't you kill me first"? He asked, practically mirroring my thoughts.

"I have no reason to kill you".

"What do you mean"? He asked.

"We may be enemies, but you haven't done anything to hurt my friends yet". It was true. Even when he came to the world of the living, he hadn't been the one to fight, I had no quarrel with him right now.

"You think so? What if I told you that I was the one who brought Orihime Inoue to Hueco Mundo". That set me off. I moved without thinking. One second I was standing about five feet away from him, holding Nel, and the next I'd brought my Zangetsu down on his arm and tossed Nel into Selena's arms.

_It's because of this bastard that this whole mess started in the first place'! _ Both Hichigo and I yelled out angrily.

"I knew it! She didn't come here of her own free will"! I snarled at him as I pressed harder, wanting so badly to slice off his head for starting all this crap.

"Interesting. You came all the way to here to save her even though you weren't sure she was innocent". He said as if it didn't matter in the slightest.

"Do you realize what you've done?! Because of you, everyone thinks Orihime is a traitor"! I yelled at him. His expression still didn't change.

"Yes. Exactly as I intended it to be". He said as he pushed back against my blade.

"Bastard"! I snarled at him.

"Now do you have a reason to fight me"? He asked. No, I wouldn't fight him. I'd kill him for all the shit he's done. We both jumped away from each other, to ready the next attack.

"Selena. You keep Nel safe and stay back. Looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way". I said as I readied myself to put all my strength into this next blow. I needed to get a move on and get to Dominique and the others., "Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. So I won't be holding back". I said as I activated my bankai. Then I leaped up into the air as I summoned my mask.

I needed to put everything I had into this hit, so I gathered all my reiatsu and forced it into my blade as I charged at Ulquiorra. I barely noticed that his expression had changed to look like he was surprised as I slashed downward onto his arm. I could tell though that his hierro was strong though, so a physical move wouldn't be enough to cut through it, but I managed to send him flying back.

I watched as he righted himself and he landed nearly horizontally on the wall. This was my chance. I took up my stance and focused my reiatsu back into the blade again, but this time to the blade only instead of the whole sword.

"GETSUGATENSHO"! I yelled out and sent the strongest Getsugatensho I could directly at him. I lost sight of him in the blast, but I could no longer feel his reiatsu, so I'd won. As the dust and smoke began to clear I felt the mask break and fall off my face. I felt exhausted. After fighting in Bree's inner world, then that guy Dordoni, and finally this fight, I was tired as hell.

"ICHIGO"! I heard Nel's voice yell out loudly. I looked back expecting her to still be in Selena's arms crying.

"Nel. Oof!". I was cut off by Nel's head collided with my face.

"WAAAA"! She sobbed, "I thought you were gonna die"! She yelled into my face. I felt a trickle of blood dribbling down my face from where her head collided with mine.

"So did I...by you". I mumbled. She continued to yell though.

"You shouldn't be using that crazy power when you're all beat up. That was stupid and I was scared. Don't do that again! WHAAAAA"! She started back with the yelling again. I sighed and smiled as I rested my hand on the top of her head.

"I'm sorry Nel. Come on let's go". I said to both Selena and Nel.

"You okay man"? Selena asked as she looked at me with respect in her eyes.

"Yeah I'm fine. But we have to hurry". She nodded and helped me stand up. That was when I sensed it. I looked back in shock and saw Ulquiorra come out of the cloud of smoke.

"Well, well". He said as he emerged.

"How..."?! I said in shock. How could he be so undamaged. He was only singed a little. There wasn't even a mark on his skin. How the hell could he be that strong.

"You surprised me. I couldn't stop that one. Even with both hands. Was that the best you've got"? He asked as he brushed off some dust off his shoulders, "I think it was. How unfortunate". He said as he pointed his right index finger at me. I knew he was about to release a cero so I grabbed up Nel and then quickly summoned my mask back onto my face.

The cero came at me and completely blasted me, Nel, and Selena through the wall and out into a sunny area. I didn't have time to care about this though as I leaped from the blast. I then began to run and saw that Selena was also running beside me. She'd drawn her dagger and she was just as heavily burnt as I was. I looked down at Nel and saw that she was unconscious.

"Nel! Nel are you okay"!? I called out to her. Then suddenly Ulquiorra sonidoed beside me and went to kick me. Selena yelled though and I saw her throw a huge spike made of stone directly at Ulquiorra. He not only shattered the spike with his hand, but also sent Selena flying away with a harsh backhanded hit. Then he came after me and kicked me.

I heard several of my ribs crack as I was sent soaring through the air and into what looked like a huge pillar. I landed harshly, but managed to keep my grip on Nel. I moved her off to the side as gently as possible. Pain seared through my chest, my ribs were obviously not just cracked, some were definitely broken. I coughed, and tasted blood in my mouth.

_'Dammit'._

Ulquiorra entered the pillar through the hole my body had made when it crashed though.

Selena's POV

I moved quickly. I couldn't let this shadow shinigami die. He was one of the only ones who could win this war. After seeing him manage to damage the espada earlier when I knew I couldn't even get a scratch on him with my strongest attack. He was so much stronger than me, heck everyone probably was.

Me? I was weak. I was the back up. The scapegoat. I wasn't crucial to the outcome of this war. I was expendable.

Just as Ulquiorra entered the pillar to finish off Ichigo, I used my doll to force as many boulders to follow me as possible as I ran up the stone pillar. Perhaps I could give Ichigo enough of an opening to finish him off. I made it to the opening and saw Ulquiorra, his back was still turned to me.

"GRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHH"! I screeched as I flew towards the espada with my doll in my hands and several jagged spear shaped boulders flying behind me to impale the espada through the back of the head.

_'So close. Almost there'._ I thought to myself, just half a meter away from him. I pointed my dagger at the blind spot on the back of his head and for an instant, I seriously thought I'd be able to kill him. Then I saw a movement in my peripheral vision and saw his blade come up and then a sharp pain filled my entire being. I felt myself get thrown into a wall, but by that time I felt darkness beginning to creep over my vision.

"SELENA"! I heard Nel scream once before I became nothing.

Ichigo's POV

I watched as Selena was cut in half. The force of the attack sent her body flying towards the wall behind me. I heard Nel scream as her body slumped forward into two pieces before turning into ash and blowing away. Ulquiorra hadn't even taken his eyes off me to kill her. I hadn't even seen him draw his blade, or even sheath it. It was just like my first fight with Byakuya all over again. Ulquiorra continued to walk towards me.

"When you went to block my cero, that mask appeared again. The transformation was very fast, but it shattered again almost instantly. You won't be able to generate it again". He paused a moment before continuing, "Give up". That pushed me. I managed to lift up my right arm and jabbed my Tensa Zangetsu at his chest.

"I don't give up. You're the leader of the espada's right? Well if I defeat you here, then this war's as good as won". I smirked as I lifted my head to look at him. He grabbed my zanpakuto and dragged it off of his chest. The shirt ripped and exposed his chest. Exposing a number four.

"You're...the fourth"? I said breathlessly. I wasn't even a match for the fourth.

"That's right. I am the fourth espada Ulquiorra Schiffer". He said, and suddenly his hand was jabbed into my chest.

_'Right where Dominique's hollow hole is in her chest'._ Came the random thought to my mind.

"Ichigo Kurosaki. You cannot defeat me. And even if by some miracle you were able to defeat me, there are still three espada's above me. No matter how many times you get back up again there will be no victory for you here". He said as he removed his hand from my chest. There wasn't even any pain anymore. I did feel myself fall to the floor, but there was no pain. I was completely numb.

"I guess I overestimated you. You're not as strong as I thought. This is the end for you. If you can still move, then leave Hueco Mundo immediately, and if you can't, stay there and die. Your quest ends here soul reaper". Was the last thing I heard as the darkness swallowed me.

Orihime's POV

I'd been sitting in my room, waiting for Ulquiorra to return. I'd eventually caved in about a few minutes ago and ate the food that they brought me. It was tasteless and bland.

_'It needed red bean paste'. _I thought to myself as I sighed. I'd suddenly gotten an image of Dominique being stabbed through the chest by a large spear. I froze for an instant, thinking that it wasn't possible, that she was just too strong to get killed. But then I felt her reiatsu completely dissappear. I leaped up off the couch and ran to the door. I tried to get out of the room, but it was locked from the outside. No matter how I pulled or banged on it I couldn't get out.

"LET ME OUT"! I yelled as tears poured down my face, "LET ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE"! I screamed, hoping that at least someone would hear me and at least open the door. I had to get to her and save her! But no one came. I slumped against the door.

_'Dominique'._ I thought dejectedly. She'd died trying to save me. After about ten minutes I managed to get to the couch and slumped against it and sobbed. Soon the tears dried. I needed to be strong or her sacrifice would be in vain. She died, not only trying to rescue me, but also fighting against the espada. She and the espada whom she'd fought had killed each other.

I began thinking about how I could get to the Hogyoku to reject it out of existence. I decided I would wait until Aizen would summon me again and then I'd use all my shields to destroy the Hogyoku. Just as I was figuring out how long I could last before I was killed I felt another pulse of reiatsu surge through me. It was different than before, but at the same time it was the same.

"Ichigo"?! I gasped out. And just as I said that I heard a knock on the door. I moved to stand up, "Ulqui-"? I was cut off by a voice that I'd heard once before, when I'd first come to Las Noches.

"See? I told you. The princess is all alone". Came the sinister voice from the door.

_'That arrancar girl from earlier'._ I remembered her and the other girl from Aizen's room where the Hogyoku was.

"O-ri-hi-me...can you come out and play"? She said, smiling crazily at me as she entered my room.

Kyle's POV

"GRRRAAAAA"! Renji yelled as he once again tried to injure the espada. I twisted my Shitenshi at hyper speed and tried to cut off his gay looking head. But just like before he ducked, dodged, and weaved out of the way of both our attacks. He always stayed a number of steps away from us. Staying mid to long range, which was pissing me off.

As he dodged Renji's last attack, he broke off one of the segment fangs of his Zabimaru. As the shattered fragment flew up into the air, he caught it and looked at it with a bored look on his face.

"You two bore me".

"What...did you say"? Renji panted. I was starting to feel winded. That fight with Nami earlier hadn't done me any good, and now I really wish I could smack Black Kyle in the face, even though that was impossible. Well, I'd be smacking my own face, and I've taken enough damage thank you very much.

"I said you bore me. Are you deaf as well as stupid? You have a power type zanpakuto and she has a speed type zanpakuto. There's really nothing unique or interesting about either of your zanpakutos. The shape variation theory is extremely simple. With all due respect, I'm afraid that there's nothing left to observe here". He said as he reached into the collar of his outfit, "Shall we end this". He said as he pulled out a button trigger and pushed it.

Suddenly the room was filled with dozens of other arrancars both big and small. I looked around and tried to figure out the ways to kill them as quickly as possible.

_'Dammit'._ I thought to myself. At this rate, the fight will drag on and on until we were completely exhausted.

"Fracciones. We espada's are allowed to select arrancars below the rank of eleven as our minions. They're known as fracciones. Some choose only one, while others choose many. My fracciones are quite special. They were hollows that I modified and were turned into arrancars by Lord Aizen. Alright. Enough chitchat. The bottom line is that I'm not going to kill you myself. You're not worth the effort. And now for the finale". He said just as something crashed into the huge arrancar standing right behind him.

_'Well that was one way to get him to shut up'._

Ciera's POV

Uryu, Peshe, and I were running towards the nearest fight, which was Kyle and Renji, not to mention that guy Dondochakka from before too. They were fighting against an espada, and were obviously having trouble with it. The espada was surrounded by dozens of lesser arrancars. Even though Kyle was strong, even she would be overrun by all those arrancars and the espada if they worked together.

Running through the hallways was too slow though, so Uryu and I began blasting our way through the walls. It was a lot of fun. Destruction was always fun when it wasn't your stuff getting destroyed. When we finally broke through the last wall, our entrance went unnoticed by everyone. I grinned at Uryu as I summoned ten Anken. He materialized his bow and we both sent our attacks into a target. He went after a big arrancar that was standing behind the espada, while I sent five of my blades into another of the big ones, and the other five into five of the smaller ones.

The espada looked back at us in shock as Uryu and I stood inside the hole in a cool looking pose. Uryu, the big mouth, was the first one to speak.

"It's unfortunate for you guys that the walls here aren't made of Sekki Seki. We could feel the echoes of your reiatsu through three walls". He said superiorly. I shook my head and looked at both Kyle and Renji.

"What happened to you guys. It looks like you two got the snot kicked outta yall". I said with a smirk on my face. Kyle smirked back up at me. She spoke up with a snicker in her voice.

"Well you don't exactly look pristine either Ciera".

Orihime's POV

I was thrown into the table where I'd eaten earlier by the arrancar woman Loly. I didn't fight back though. I knew that even though she would beat me up, that she wasn't allowed to kill me because of Aizen. I would wait this out and when they left I'd heal myself. And anyway, it was all I really could do. I wouldn't let Tsubaki get hurt again, so I refused to use him. I'd just take the pain, after all, there were others fighting and dying for my sake. I really deserved this in a way.

"Hahahaha"! Loly said as she grabbed my hair and lifted me up from the ground. It was painful. I could feel several hairs getting pulled out by the roots, but I didn't say anything, I didn't even whimper, "Ha! Look at you! You really think a human could beat an arrancar"?! I simply looked at her with pity as blood dripped down my face and my left eye swelled shut.

"Why you little... Don't look at me like that"! She said as she punched me in the face again. Black dots danced across my vision for a second, but I didn't lose consciousness at least.

"Hey. Keep it down". The other woman, Menoly said quietly.

"Shut up"! Loly yelled at her before turning back to me with a sneer on her face, "Oh, I know! I'll yank out all her fingernails"! She said with a cackle.

"Loly...". The other woman began to say before a loud crack reverberated through the room. My eyes went to the door immediately, but saw that the crack was in the wall beside the door. The two women looked at the door in shock and a bit of fear. I managed to see that the man whom I'd healed before, Grimmjow came through the hole in the wall.

"Grimmjow"?! The two of them said in shock. He smirked before looking at the three of us.

"Hey. The two of you snuck in here when Ulquiorra was out huh? Having fun"? He said as he began walking towards us. I didn't know what he intended to do, so I stayed silent.

Uh oh". Melony said in fear.

"What do you want"! Loly yelled at him, obviously even more scared than the other woman. He stepped in front of Loly and kicked her in the stomach. In doing so, she released her hold of me and was sent flying to the other side of the room. She landed heavily on the floor and when she managed to get to her knees, she threw up a fountain of blood and stomach acid. Menoly came at him and looked to be charging up a cero.

"Grimmjow"! She yelled as she went to hit him, but he caught it with his bare hand and then he blasted most of the top half of her body away with a cero, just like he'd done before with that other arrancar. Then he turned back to Loly who was glaring at him from the floor.

"You realize Lord Aizen will get you for this". She said before Grimmjow reached down to grab one of her legs. He lifted it up and placed his foot where her knee joint was. He was going to break it.

"Hey! What are you-? No! No! Stop, stop, stop! Please! I won't tell anybody! I promise"! She said in a suddenly happy sounding voice. But then Grimmjow yanked on her leg and ripped it clean off her body. A long line of blood splattered against the wall as she screamed. A shudder traveled down my spine.

"YOU'RE DEAD! I HOPE LORD AIZEN KILLS- UGH"! She screamed as he kicked her again. Grimmjow continued to look down at her with a blank look on his face.

"Idiot. Aizen doesn't give a fuck what I do to you bitches". He said before he turned to look at me.

"Why"? I asked quietly.

"For my left arm". He answered.

"What"? Was all I could say. He was actually repaying me for helping him? That shock was short lived though as he grabbed the front of my outfit roughly and hoisted me high into the air with one hand, "Why did you..."? I managed to say before he interrupted with a crazy smile on his face.

"Why? You think I came here just to save your ass?! Don't be stupid! I repaid by debt to you. So now we're even. And now you're going to do something for me". He said with a sadistic look on his face. He put me back on the floor roughly.

'What could he possibly want from me'? I thought to myself fearfully as he looked at me.

"Fix your face. If you're gonna hang with me, you can't be all bruised up. Fix it, now". He ordered. I would, but there was something I had to do first though. I turned from him and ran towards Loly first. I heard Grimmjow call after me, but he made no move to stop me, so I would continue.

I walked over to Loly and grabbed her severed leg. It would be quicker to heal if the pieces were actually here. I set the leg by her, nearly touching the ends together.

"What are you doing"? She asked fearfully. I didn't say anything, but I summoned my Sōten Kisshun and began healing her even though she continued to freak out, "Hey! What are you doing?! Don't touch me"! She yelled as she slapped my face harshly. I felt fresh blood in my mouth, but I continued to heal her though. As soon as she was finished I stood up and went over to the nearly completely destroyed body of Menoly.

"My legs". I heard her whimper as I began healing Menoly. This one took a bit longer than her leg, but I finished it and then quickly healed myself. Then Grimmjow came up to me with a chain and several pieces of cloth. I understood. I would need to be bound and blindfolded. After all, I was a prisoner. I didn't object, I let myself go numb as he then covered me in a large sheet, covering me in complete darkness.

Ciera's POV

"Medezeppi! Jokken! Koren! Noh! Taizu! Messare! Warren"! The arrancars screamed at us, "They killed them"! They all screamed while pointing at us.

"Well you're not very tough, but there sure are a lot of you". Uryu said.

"Hey. Hey guys. Did you scare them good? Are they all shaking"? Came Peshe's voice from behind us. I could tell in his voice that he was the one scared.

"Stay back okay. You'll ruin the moment". Uryu said without turning around. I looked down at the espada who was smiling up at us. Then I remembered something, that was the espada that shadow shinigami girl from earlier had told us about. This guy was ranked number eight, and was the one who poisoned the Forest Guardian.

"Silence"! The espada yelled loudly. Everyone went so quiet so fast, I'd bet that if a cricket were here, it would sound like a bomb going off.

_'Have to give it to the guy. Good crowd control'._ I admitted.

"Our guest have something they wish to say. So let's hear them out". The said with a wave of his hand, as if telling us to go on ahead and speak. I was caught between thank you for shutting those idiots up, or just slapping him for acting so high and mighty.

"That's very kind of you. Sorry to get right to the point, but I need to confirm one thing? Are you an espada"? Uryu asked. I sweat dropped. Of course this dude's an espada. Did he not listen at all when Dominique told us about him. Maybe he's just acting stupid or something.

"Yes. I'm the eighth espada, Szayelaporro Grantz". He answered, confirming what I already knew.

"The eighth huh? What a relief. That doesn't sound too scary then". Uryu said with relief in his voice.

"No it doesn't. But I'm still stronger than you. By the way, who are you two"? He paused. He didn't know what I was. I smirked at him. He wouldn't know that I was a zanpakuto spirit that had free mobility.

"Uryu Ishida. A Quincy".

"Ciera. I ain't tellin you anything else though". I told him after Uryu spoke up. An excited look appeared on the espada's face.

"A Quincy! Then you're those unusual beings who fought Sanderwicci! First bankai users, and then a Quincy! What luck. If Yammy were here he'd bee howling with joy right now"! He said just as Uryu moved. I stayed back though. He appeared directly behind the espada and pointed his bow at him.

"You're right. Yammy would be howling. Having someone like you in my sights, makes me want to howl too". He said just as he shot one of his seeleschneider directly into the espada's chest. A direct hit. I smirked. Uryu did the best thing when he took out the espada right away. The espada fell to his knees and all the other arrancars began to call out his name in distress. Their master was beaten, and they knew they were next. At least, that's what it had appeared to be.

The arrow broke apart like it was nothing, and then Szayelaporro began to laugh maniacally.

"Fool! Did you really think that pathetic arrow of yours would pierce me, puncture me, penetrate me? Are you really that naive?! Didn't you think it was strange that I'd already knew who you two fought against?! I've already analyzed the two of you; Quincy and zanpakuto spirit"! He laughed at us, and my eyes widened in shock.

_'He knows'. _

Kyle's POV

Well that explains a lot. Why Ciera never told us what she was. I'd never heard of a zanpakuto spirit walking around freely, let alone without its soul reaper or shadow shinigami. She shunpoed down beside me and I'd noticed that she seemed uncomfortable.

"It's alright Ciera. It so don't matter that you're a zanpakuto spirit. Hell, it just makes you fit in better with the rest of us". I told her, slinging my arm around her shoulder and mussing up her hair playfully. She shook her head.

"It's not just that. I've got a bad feeling. Something's wrong. I hope Selena and Mimie are alright". She said with worry in her voice. I nodded.

"I'm sure they're fine. Mimie's crazy, so that means she'll be fine. Then there's Selena. She's strong in her own way, she'll survive, I'm sure of it". I said to reassure her. She nodded her head and then grinned.

"Well okay then. Let's hurry this up here then so that we can go kick their butts for making us worry about them". She said as she summoned an Anken into both of her hands. I smirked at her.

"Hell yeah. Let's get this party started for realz". I said as we threw ourselves into the mass of arrancars along with Renji and Uryu. Even though I was taking them out left and right, there were so many of them, and several of them had instant regeneration. I'd think I'd kill them, only for them to heal and come at me again. I noticed that Uryu's arrows were getting weaker and weaker.

Then his bow disappeared...just as a large fist was coming at his face. Both Renji and I moved and blocked the hit from making contact. We were both panting.

"Renji! Kyle"! Uryu said in shock, as if he couldn't believe we'd just saved his ass. I turned to look back at him.

"Well don't just stand there you idiot"! I yelled at him. Then Renji cut in.

"Strategy's your thing right?! So you need to find a way to beat this guy"! Renji then yelled at him.

"Calm down you two. I'm working on it". Then Ciera came to stand with us.

"Well then you need to get thinking faster four-eyes. Get those wheels in that head of yours turning already". She said as she tossed two more Ankens at a hollow, wounding it, but not killing it. She cussed under her breath. She'd already found out the hard way that she couldn't preform bankai.

"I've got a plan". Uryu said as he moved forward.

"Good. We're all counting on you, so don't mess this up". Renji said loudly. I seriously don't think that guy could be quiet if he tried.

"Don't worry about me. Just make sure you don't mess up". Uryu said with a smirk. Szayelaporro smirked and stepped forward.

_'Shit's about to get real'. _I thought to myself with a dark smirk on my lips.

"How long do you guys think you can hold him off"? Uryu asked us. Renji spoke up first.

"Twenty seconds at most". Then I spoke up.

"Me and Ciera can easily double, even quadruple that". I said seriously. Ciera nodded.

"Alright then. That's more than enough". Uryu said as he got into position. I twirled my Shitenshi around once and stood at the ready. Ciera summoned four Anken and crouched low to the floor.

"Let's go"! The four of us said as once.

"You fracciones stay out of this. Interesting, but what can they do in their condition? I guess I'll find out". I heard him say before Renji raised his zanpakuto.

"You two might wanna duck". Renji said as he began to swing his Zabimaru in the air at high speed. I nodded at Ciera and we both charged off to the opposite sides. As the espada was distracted by Renji, I brought my Shitenshi up to my face. It was time for me to use one of the abilities that only a half soul could use. Zanpakuto Merge.

"Shitenshi". I called to my blade as I rested the black staff against my forehead. My zanpakuto glowed brightly and then disappeared into my soul. The changes happened quickly. Two scythes appeared on my back, pointing downward, and two scythes appeared on my forearms, as well as my forelegs, and finally a scythe appeared on the top of my head like a shark fin.

I rushed forward and struck at the espada. He ducked away from my blades and managed to stay just out of reach. He was about to take another step back when Ciera's Anken blocked his movement by landing directly by his feet. Then suddenly Renji's blade passed by my face, just inches from my nose. I ducked out of the way, and Ciera followed suit as Renji moved to wrap his zanpakuto around both him and the espada. Trapping him at close range.

"What's this? This is quite the awkward position don't you think? I'm sorry but I'm not interested in this sort of thing". He said as Renji kept his head down. I didn't know what he was planning, but both Ciera and I backed away quickly.

_'What's he up to'? _

"Well, say something"? Szayelaporro said in irritation.

"I'm much more mobile when I use my shikai, but I'm not very good at close range though. You know that you're much more powerful than I am, but you're helpless at this distance". Renji said as the collar where Renji had grabbed onto the espada started smoking, "Stings a little doesn't it"? He asked the espada with a smirk on his face.

_'So he's using a kido. I didn't figure him for a kido user. Especially after that incident when we first entered Las Noches'. _

"I've never been good at kido. My teachers always scolded me for my lack of control. But now let's see which of us is more durable. Hado 31, Shakkaho"! He said as the kido blew up in a large explosion, nothing like the tiny gnat he'd made before. Just like before, the espada moved away from him. Ciera and I quickly moved in and moved Renji back.

"Dammit! Stupid soul reaper"! Szayelaporro snarled as he coughed loudly. He was heavily burnt, but still in fighting condition. I hoped Uryu activated his plan soon.

"Just as I suspected". Speak of the devil. There was Uryu's voice, "When Renji attacked, you moved away from him to maintain the distance between you. You like to look down at your enemies, don't you? You always keep just beyond their reach". Uryu said as he pointed another seeleschneider at the espada. The espada looked back at him with a sneer on his face.

"So what? You like to ambush your enemies from behind. You think you've won Quincy"? He asked snobby like. Uryu smirked at him.

"Yes. I think I do". Uryu said as he stabbed his seeleschneider into the ground at his feet. Then suddenly the smoke completely cleared away from where Szayelaporro was standing. There were five seeleschneiders surrounding the espada in the shape of a pentagon, and reishi seemed to be coming from each of them that had the espada trapped in the center of the pentagon. Well at least we now knew why Uryu needed the extra time.

"No! I've sealed up all the reiatsu in your weapons"! The espada said fearfully. Uryu pulled a small object from one of his pockets and held it above the seeleschneider at his feet.

"There are things about me you don't know. Shall I give you the news in your own language? Se Acabo Szayelaporro Grantz". Uryu said as he tipped the small object over and a liquid like substance dripped onto the seeleschneider. The arrow glowed brightly before all the other ones began to glow and suddenly the entire pentagon was filled with a huge blast that went from the floor to the ceiling.

_'Damn. Impressive'._ I thought to myself. I then watched as all the arrancar began to run to their dead master as the blast subsided. I cracked my neck loudly. Time for cleanup duty. I then saw that guy Peshe and Dondochakka appear again now that the fight was over.

"What was that move Uryu"? Peshe asked in amazement.

"That was Sprengen. Silver ginto and the seeleschneider are used to create a zone of destruction in the shape of a Quincy Zeichen. It traps whatever's inside of it and creates a blast that completely obliterates whatever's inside the area. It's powerful, but it takes time to do it. That's why I needed the help of someone I could trust". He said as he looked at the three of us.

Ciera was supporting Renji while I stood there with my scythes still sticking out of me. Both Ciera and I smiled at him. Renji smirked at him though.

"Flattery won't work ya know". Renji said with a weak chuckle. I laughed.

"Says you. I live off of compliments". I said with a laugh.

"Hgnnn". Came a raspy voice from behind Uryu. The six of us all looked that way and saw the spada emerge from the smoke. He looked like he was an inch away from being beef jerky, and was also half naked.

"Dammit"! Renji cussed loudly.

"Damn he's persistent". I said in an annoyed tone. It would be simple now though to finish him off. I smirked and stepped forward, ready to charge at him and to take him out.

"I'm amazed that you can still stand after that"? Uryu said calmly.

"Of...course I can stand. I told you...I've already analyzed your reiatsu. Even if you use a technique I've never seen...it's still your reiatsu at work. Diffuse the impact and reduce...reduce the damage...reduce the damage...reduce the DAMAGE! REDUCE THE DAMAGE YOU FOOLS"! He finished screaming at us. He reached behind him and grabbed one of the round arrancars from earlier by the head.

He brought the thing to his face and chomped down on its head. He began to devour the hollow like a maniac. I mean, I've seen shadow shinigami devour hollows a few times, but nothing like this. He was using human styled teeth and yet his jaw opened so wide I thought he'd turn into a snake or something. Then I noticed something as he continued to devour the hollow. All the wounds on his body began to heal at high speed.

Soon his body was completely healed, and all that was left of the round arrancar from before was a small portion of the lower half of the body, the little bit of torso that was still attached to the arm he was using to hod the body up to his mouth, and the arm that was sticking out of his mouth, that he spit out.

_'Damn'._ I thought in disgust.

"Lumina! Lumina"! The other round arrancar yelled in sadness.

"Shut up! I'll make you a new Lumina later"! He said. The arrancar settled down, but had tears in it's eyes. Then the espada smiled at us.

"What's wrong. You people look surprised. I told you earlier that my fracciones were special. When I'm injured I eat them to heal my wounds. That's why they exist". He said proudly.

"That's fucking sick". Ciera said in disgust.

"You monster". Uryu said.

"You mean genius. That's a more accurate term for me don't you think"? Szayelaporro countered. Then he promptly turned around and began walking away.

"Where the hell do you think you're going"!? I demanded. He stopped and looked back at us.

"To change my clothes of course. Do you honestly expect me to fight in these rags"? He asked us.

"You can't be-". Uryu began to say before the espada cut him off.

"Stop. Think about it. You people ruined my clothes and now I have to change. So wait here quietly and use those feeble brains of yours to come up with a plan. You can be assured that I'll be coming up with some horrible way to kill the four of you". He said as he sonidoed away. I stood there in shock for a moment. I really didn't know what to think. Then my thoughts came out in a rush.

"That fruit loop did not just leave the fight to go change clothes?! How gay can you fucking get"!?

Orihime's POV

I'd been surrounded by darkness for some time now. I couldn't tell where we were going, or even ask because of the gag in my mouth. All I could do is wait. Then suddenly I was surrounded by light as Grimmjow removed the cover from over me. I fell to my knees and felt the gag get cut away from my mouth. I was met with the sight of Ichigo laying in front of me. Badly wounded.

There were burns all over him, gashes, and a hole in his chest, but this wasn't a hollow hole, it was a wound. My eyes widened in shock as I saw his eyes. They looked back at me, unseeingly and glazed over.

"I-Ichigo"? I whispered. I then heard a loud thump behind me.

"Heal him". Grimmjow ordered me as he sat down on a pile of rubble. I nodded and began to heal him. Then I saw a little girl that had a hollows mask on her head a little ways off, crying. Who was she? What was a little girl doing here? Where'd she come from? Were the things that ran through my mind as I began to work on healing Ichigo.

"Ichigo got hit by the cero trying to protect me! And then he got beat up too! It's my fault he's hurt! He'd be fine if it wasn't for me! It's all my fault! Please save Ichigo"!

"SHUT UP"! Grimmjow yelled at her, causing me to jump a little, "Stop crying. Cry again and I'll kill you". He said to the little girl. I heard her whimper in fear.

"Yes sir". She managed to get out quietly.

"He doesn't need your help. So just shut up and watch kid". He said. I continued to try and heal Ichigo, but there was something wrong. The hole in his chest wasn't fading.

_'There's a huge amount of reiatsu surrounding Ichigo's wounds. I can't reject them'._ I thought to myself worriedly.

"Who would have done something like this"? I asked out loud.

"Ulquiorra". Grimmjow answered.

_'He...'._ I mentally trailed off.

"That's his mark alright. I'm not sure if he's even aware of that little quirk. He always makes a hole in his victims that he finds interesting. I'm gonna teach him a lesson though about trying to steal someone else's prey". That was when I saw Ichigo's finger twitch. I looked back and saw that the hole was almost completely closed up, and Ichigo's eyes were back to normal.

"Uhg...Nel...and Orihime"? Ichigo asked in surprise. I felt the little girl named Nel jump onto my shoulder.

"Ichigo"! We both called out happily.

"Shut up! Stop wasting time and heal him"! Grimmjow ordered.

"Grimmjow? What are you doing here"? Ichigo asked, noticing Grimmjow's presence.

"You shut up too! The girl's gonna heal you. I want you healthy when I kill you". I gasped.

_'That's the reason why he brought me here'?!_

"Grimmjow! You just want me to heal him just so that you can kill him"?! I asked out loud.

"Why not!? Would you rather I let him die?! Now hurry up! Ulquiorra's gonna show up any minute-"! He stopped abruptly as Ulquiorra appeared behind him. All of us looked at him in shock.

_'Oh no'._ I thought to myself in dismay.

"Ulquiorra". Grimmjow said tersely.

"What are you doing Grimmjow"? Ulquiorra asked, but Grimmjow was strangely silent, "Well. I asked you a question. Why are you trying to heal an enemy I defeated"?

_'Why isn't Grimmjow saying anything'? _

"Nothing to say for yourself huh? Well in any case, Lord Aizen put the woman in my care. Give her to me". Ulquiorra demanded.

"Fuck off". Grimmjow said darkly.

"What"? Ulquiorra asked just as darkly.

"You heard me. I'm surprised Ulquiorra. You sure are talkative today"! Grimmjow said as he charged at Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra's POV

When I'd gone back to the woman's room I'd found the door wide open, and a large hole blasted through the wall as well. I smelled the scent of blood in the air, and I could tell it was the woman's blood. I walked into the wrecked room to find the two lower level arrancars Loly and Menoly. As soon as they noticed my presence, they stood up and backed into the wall underneath the window with fear on their faces.

"What happened here"? I asked them. They whimpered.

"Grimmjow". Loly told me. That was all I needed to know. I turned and walked from the room. I tracked his reiatsu since he seemed to have hidden the woman's reiatsu. I found them outside of this palace and in the dome area. I sonidoed to where they were and found them at the pillar where I'd wounded the soul reaper Ichigo Kurosaki.

When I'd gotten there I asked him why he was healing the enemy. At first he didn't speak, but then after a short while he charged at me. I easily blocked his strike with my left hand.

"Ulquiorra. I know that you're afraid to fight me". He said with a crazed smirk on his face, "You're afraid that we'll kill each other"! He yelled as he launched a cero at me. I quickly deflected it, even though it singed the sleeve of my left arm.

"Ha! You deflected it, but I knew one strike wouldn't be enough"! He yelled at me. I then used sonido to get into position above him and pointed down directly at his head. I charged up a cero of my own, but just as I was about to release it, he moved his hand up directly against the tip of my finger where the cero would discharge. He charged up a cero of his own and the explosion engulfed us both.

I heard the sound of breaking stone, we'd destroyed the top part of the pillar that we'd been in before. I leaped back into the air, taking the high ground so to speak. I looked around for Grimmjow, waiting for his next attack. I'd been expecting him to come at me with his zanpakuto. I saw his arm coming towards me, but I couldn't move in time.

He put his hand directly over my hollow hole and that's when I figured out what he was doing. A small glowing cube floated into my hollow hole and then the Caja De Negacion took effect. The portal opened up and began surrounding me. I could do nothing against it for now. I looked out of the closing window of light at Grimmjow.

"Damn you Grimmjow". Was all I said before I was sent into a world of darkness.

Orihime's POV

As Grimmjow landed back on the floor, I released the hold I'd had on the barrier in front of me that had protected Ichigo, Nel, and myself when the two ceros had exploded.

"What was that"? I asked.

"We espada's are given something called a Caja De Negacion by Aizen. We use them to punish our subordinates. I used it on Ulquiorra. It can seal a normal victim inside a closed dimension forever. But it wasn't designed to be used against an espada though. Considering his strength, I'd say we have about two or three hours before he breaks out. Now hurry up and heal him". He said seriously. I released the barrier around Ichigo.

"I refuse". I told him. I wouldn't heal him, just so that he could be killed by Grimmjow. Suddenly I had a hand wrapped around my neck. He'd moved so quickly that I hadn't seen him move.

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Heal him". He ordered. I reached up and tried to get his hand from around my neck.

"No! I won't help you kill him"! I almost growled at him.

"You little-"! He was cut off by a hand on his arm. I looked over and saw that Ichigo had managed to get up and he glared at Grimmjow from underneath his bangs.

_'He's in no condition to move. He still shouldn't even be able to stand'._ I thought to myself worriedly.

"Let her go". Ichigo growled, much like Dominique did when she was angry. They both moved away from each other, and at first I'd thought that they'd start fighting right then and there, but Ichigo spoke up again, "Orihime. Please heal me". He asked, not turning his eyes away from Grimmjow.

"What"? He knew what that meant though. That if I'd heal him, he'd just have to start fighting right away again.

"Please heal my wounds". He paused a moment, "And his as well". He said, and that's when I just noticed Grimmjow's burn arm. Grimmjow was just about to say something when a black blur dropped from the sky. When it stood up, it turned out to be Dominique.

She was alive.

Dominique's POV

I sat back down on my bean bag chair with a huff after taking one of those pills from the bag. I felt my reiatsu go back up and was feeling much better. The other espadas would now think that I was dead. That would be majorly to my advantage. Rukia seemed more relaxed than before, and Nami was talking with Louis and Piair about something. Kaien and Metestalkia, now separated were looking around for something among the little cabinets in the many pillars in the palace.

That's when it happened.

I'd already been sensing Ichigo starting to fight with that guy Ulquiorra from earlier. At first it had seemed like everything was fine. But then after a short period of waiting for the huge aftershock of his attack wore off I felt something wrong. I looked down just as a small amount of red/black reiatsu surged below me then up through me. And that's when I knew.

Ichigo was dying.

"NOOOOOOOO"! I roared out in pain and rage as I stood up and ran towards the door. In my blind rage I didn't even feel the two sets of arms wrap around my body. They held me back from leaving the palace. I whipped my head and saw that it was both Nami and Louis. I snarled at them and continued to try and get to Ichigo.

"Dominique! What's wrong"?! Louis yelled at me. I felt tears begin pouring down my face even though it was still twisted into an expression of pure rage.

"ICHIGO"! I screeched as I tried to escape their grasp. At the mention of Ichigo's name, Nami's grip loosened enough for me to break free. I leaped forward and ripped myself out of Louis's grasp as well.

Just as I was about to get to the door three more people got in my way. It was Kaien, Metestalkia, and Rukia. I screeched at them feraly and lowered myself into a crouch. All thoughts on just who these people were left my mind, and was replaced with only one thing; to get to Ichigo as soon as possible.

"Dominique, please calm down". Kaien said as he moved closer towards me, hands up to either show he wasn't about to attack me, or to try and restrain me. I let out a sharp hiss before I let the hollow nature in me loose and transformed into my half hollow state. My claws clicking against the stone floor, my wings flaring out at my sides to make me appear larger, and my tail lashing harshly from side to side.

If my mind had been working normally, I would have seen the slight fear expression on Rukia's face as she watched me transform without my reiatsu cloaking the actual transformation process to cover up the fact that when I transformed, my body practically ripped itself apart. I probably would have laughed and made a joke about it in any other situation, but at the moment, I wasn't coherent enough to care.

Metestalkia tried to grab me, but I twisted around in a flurry of wings and tail before running towards the wall. I ran almost on all fours, my claws digging into the stone floor to push me forward even though it was more difficult in this form than in my full hollow state. I charged up a cero in my mouth and blasted the wall in front of me before leaping through the smoke and out into the falsely bright sky.

As I fell in the air rush past me I snapped open my wings and began flapping them furiously. I had no clue where he was. His reiatsu was almost completely gone, except for the residual reiatsu from his attack that still hung in the air like a fog. And it was mixed up with the residual reiatsu of Ulquiorra's cero. I couldn't pinpoint him, there were too many reiatsu distortions in the air.

_'Zangetsu! Please! Tell me where he is'!_ I pleaded with my zanpakuto. Tears still streamed down my face below my mask and pain filled my chest where my hollow hole was, and was quickly spreading throughout my whole body.

_'Southward. Go quickly'._ Was all he said. I turned sharply through the air and saw a pillar near the center of the room with a large hole in it. It was very far away from me and seemed like a stick from here even with my heightened senses. I flapped my wings furiously and sped towards Ichigo. But then something happened.

His reiatsu reappeared, and next to his was Orihime's reiatsu.

In my surprise my wings snapped close and fell to the ground with a heavy thump as my legs hit the sand and I slid a few feet from the left over momentum. My body froze and I felt my body huff out a relieved breath as Ichigo's reiatsu got steadily stronger. My mind began to clear and the pain began to fade.

He was alive, but in trouble.

I noticed this as I felt Grimmjow's reiatsu was next to his and Orihime's own reiatsu. And Ulquiorra's was approaching them fast. I dispersed my hollow state to conserve energy and then flew towards them since I was still in my bankai state. I pushed myself harder than I'd ever done while in my bankai state in the speed aspect, but at least now I was sane again.

A huge explosion shook the atmosphere. A huge dust cloud blinded me for a moment and then I was able to see that Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were in the air and fighting, but against each other. I couldn't really see them, they were still quite far ahead and looked like tiny specks against the fake sky of Las Noches. I was only able to tell it was them from their heavy reiatsu filling the air.

_'Well that's convenient'._ I thought to myself as I hurried up towards Ichigo's reiatsu. I was almost there when Ulquiorra's reiatsu completely vanished. I looked over and saw that there seemed to be a distortion in the air around where Ulquiorra's reiatsu vanished. I flew on ahead though to get to Ichigo. When I finally made it to the destroyed tower, I saw that Ichigo and Grimmjow were glaring at each other.

Both of them were wounded and Orihime was there along with Nel. But I couldn't sense that girl Selena's reiatsu anywhere. I was directly over them now so I twisted my body and landed on the ground in front of them, my bankai coat making my entrance even more dramatic. I looked at the two of them and it looked like they'd been just about to attack one another.

Everybody looked at me in shock at my entrance. Grimmjow was the first to speak though.

"Heh. Looks like that report from Aaroniero was fake. Figured. Knew it would take more than that weakling to take that bitch out". Grimmjow said as he sneered at me. I let a low growl rumble in my throat, but otherwise said nothing. I was just happy that Ichigo was alive.

"I can't believe it. Your reiatsu vanished. I thought you were dead". Ichigo said in a relieved voice. I looked at him with a relieved look on my own face.

"I could say the same about you Ichigo. Where's Selena by the way"? I asked, mentioning the only person who wasn't here. Ichigo looked down.

"She's dead. She died when Ulquiorra attacked us". I looked at him in shock before looking down at the ground.

"Damn. Couldn't Orihime..."? I left off. Ichigo shook his head.

"She's gone completely. Nothing left of her now". Ichigo explained. I nodded my head. I would have to tell Kyle when the time came. I turned back to Grimmjow.

"Fine then. So tell me. What's going on here"? I said to Grimmjow. He glared at me.

"I want to finish our fight from earlier". Was all he said. I nodded.

"I'm good with doing that". Ichigo said with a smirk in his voice. I then looked to Orihime.

"Please heal them both so they can finally finish this fight". I told her. I would stay here and watch this myself. I refused to let Ichigo get killed, but I sensed that since we'd last been together, he'd grown stronger. That was one thing about shadow shinigami. Every time we have a near death experience, we always get stronger. We were almost like freakn' sayians from Dragon Ball Z. Although Ichigo had come too close to that invisible line for comfort in my opinion.

"I don't want your pity". Grimmjow growled at me. But before I could say anything, Ichigo spoke up.

"It's not pity. You wanted a fair fight right? Or maybe you'd rather keep your wounds so you'll have an excuse when you lose". Ichigo said towards Grimmjow.

_'Ooo, burn'._ I thought to myself with pride. At that Grimmjow and Ichigo charged at the same time. Just before they're blades clashed though I got in between the two of them and blocked both their blades with my reiatsu covered arms. I glared at Grimmjow, but he only smirked at Ichigo.

"Fine then. Let's have a good clean murder". Grimmjow growled at him. I hissed as I pushed the two of them apart. Orihime went over to heal Grimmjow first while I finished up Ichigo's healing with a healing shadow.

I kept an eye on Grimmjow to make sure that he didn't try any dirty tricks before I was finished healing Ichigo. But he seemed content to sit there and get healed. After they were both healed, I moved both Nel and Orihime over to the sidelines, to keep them away from the soon to be battlefield. Before I left to join them though, I spoke up to Ichigo one last time.

"Kick his ass Ichigo". Was all I said before joining Orihime and Nel to watch the upcoming fight.

Me: STOP!

*Record screech*

Everybody: *Pauses*

Me: Okay. I know this is the end of the chapter, but I have a special segment for this one. It was a special request from the Oc Bree's creator. So I now present you with an Omake! Oh but first, Antex-The Legendary Zoroark?

Antex: CERO!

Aizen: AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Me: There we go. Hehehe. Thanks Antex.

Antex: No problem.

Aizen: *Smoking from the cero*

Me: Smoking is bad Aizen. Mimie?

Mimie: Giant Hammer of Doom! *Brings down huge anime hammer from her infinite back portal*.

Aizen: *Now a smoking, flat disc with a stamp labeled "Stupid" on his body from the hammer*

Me: Much better. I love being an author. Enjoy the Omake guys! **:D**

**OMAKE: Deleted Scene, Bree and Ichigo**

Dominique's POV

I really didn't know what to make of the situation in front of me. I pulled out my script from my hakama pocket and saw what I was supposed to be doing right now. Righteous fury, rage, anguish, snarling, and going feral on anybody who got in between me and Ichigo during this scene. Then going moving to see Grimmjow and Ulquiorra fighting before the big final fight with Grimmjow. I sweat dropped at what was happening before me.

Ichigo was being dragged around by a chibi sized Bree in her ressurection state. Bree was running around happily, while making chirping and puppy sounds while Ichigo was screaming for someone to help him. From what I could see, Bree was using her green flames to handcuff Ichigo to her while she dragged him around like a ragdoll. It was quite entertaining to see, but I'd thought that we were on a schedule.

"JADE"! I yelled out loudly. Then suddenly the author popped into existence in this universe. She was shorter than me by a an inch or two and was stocky built. She had brunette hair that stopped midway down her back and it stuck out at odd angles around her face. She was wearing a black shirt that had what looked like an old fashion styled reaper on a skeleton horse with a scythe in its hand as it stood over a pile of black skulls and was also wearing a pair of faded jeans.

"What? You know I'm busy writing the next chapter's script". She said in an annoyed tone as she sipped from a large cup of coffee. I didn't say anything but pointed to the chaos down below. That was also when I realized that Grimmjow, Nel, Orihime, and Ulquiorra were also here and were watching as Ichigo got tossed around. Ulquiorra looked blankly at him as usual, Nel was laughing, and so was Grimmjow. Though obviously for two different reasons.

Orihime was looking at the scene with a confused look on her face. She apparently didn't know what to do either. I looked over to Jade and saw her having a mental battle to not laugh and stay serious. She lost quickly though.

"Hahahaha! Oh that's good! Hahahaha"! She laughed loudly as she fell on her butt in her laughter. She managed to not even spill a drop of her coffee. I glared at her darkly.

"Aren't we supposed to be doing a very important scene right now"? I growled at her.

"Oh shush. This is comedy gold! We've got plenty of time so just enjoy the show"! She said with a mischievous smile on her face. Then she waved over to the others.

_'I don't see how she gets anything done with that attitude of hers. I know I can be laid back and lazy at times, but damn'._ I thought darkly to myself. Dominique didn't drop her smile but her voice changed pitch.

"You know I heard that. Author, remember? I hear everything". She said with a smirk on her face now. She didn't look at me, but I felt a chill run down my spine.

_'Stupid author-ness'._ I thought to myself again, knowing that she heard.

"Yo! Grimmkitty and Emo-bat! Get your tails over here! I got some modifications to do on your script while I'm here"! Dominique said, two scripts appearing in her hands with a poof. She ran over to the two arrancars who actually had fearful looks on their faces at the sight of her, probably remembering the last story she'd worked on. I decided I would try to help Ichigo on my own. I ran over to a bouncing Bree as she yipped happily.

I tried to grab her, only for her to sonido out of my way. I growled and began chasing her. She was fast for such a tiny thing though. As soon as I got within striking distance, she would sonido away. Ichigo had stopped screaming by now, too dizzy to probably even make a sound. His eyes were comic swirls and his face had turned a light green color.

Then I saw my chance. I twisted around and pounced. I managed to get my hands around Bree's little wolf cub-like body, only for her flames to move up my arms and suddenly my arms were locked in place. I couldn't move and Bree yipped again in excitement. Then she began dragging both Ichigo and I around the room even faster than before.

"JADE DO SOMETHING"! I yelled at Jade as she watched the antics with the others. I saw that she had a camera out and was now obviously recording what was going on. I yelled and cussed at her while being dragged around helplessly. For such a tiny thing, Bree was stronger than any bull I'd ever seen at any rodeo.

I heard Jade laugh once more before yawning, or at least that's what I thought it was. I was being tossed around so hard and fast that I couldn't really be sure. I was actually surprised that my arms weren't dislocated from all this.

"Okay Bree that's enough. You can let them down now". Jade said with a smirk in her voice. Then suddenly we stopped and I was only aware that the room still seemed to be moving. Ichigo and I fell on top of each other as we tried to recover from the dizziness.

"Hahahaha"! Came a bunch of new voices. I looked up and saw all the other authors and reviewers standing there and laughing at Ichigo and I. I glared at them. That's when I noticed what position I was in. I'd fallen in Ichigo's lap, my face near a err ... particular part of him.

_'Well two can play at that game'._ I thought to myself. Jade looked at me questioningly. If she wanted a show, I would give them one. I began moving my hands towards Ichigo, who immediately reacted, in more ways than one. At the sight Jade began looking around and shooed away all the others. I stopped as soon as they were all gone. Jade managed to get them all gone within five seconds.

Then she turned back to glare at me, with a blush on her face. I stuck my tongue out at her and laughed. She looked at me in shock and then smirked.

"Gotcha". I said with a snicker. Jade sighed then laughed.

"Well played Dominique". She said with a laugh. Then I remembered the others here. Nel looked at us with a confused look on her face, Orihime was blushing like mad, and Ulquiorra and Grimmjow both looked stuck between being embarrassed and turned on.

"Well gotta go. Bye"! Jade said as she proofed back to her world. I snickered.

"Dominique: 1, Jade: 0". I said to myself as I stood up. Ichigo had a blush on his face and had turned around to adjust his hakama. I blushed a bit at that, but kept the smirk on my face.

_'Better give everybody a break after that little incident'._ I thought to myself as I looked around. Bree was nowhere to be found now, but the evidence of her presence here was everywhere. I sighed. Guess we wouldn't get a break today.

"Come on guys. We gotta get the set ready again and get this done. Now let's move people"! I yelled as everybody began making the tower look like it had just been broken through again and not burned by little green flames and cleaning up the small paw prints that were everywhere. I sighed. This was going to be a long day.

**OMAKE: Deleted Scene: End**

Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Dominique: Shut up now. *Blush*

Me: But I still has the pics!

Shiva: That was hilarious!

Ichigo: This sucks.

Dominique: I agree.

Rose: I want the pics too!

Luna: SAME!

drmona lord: YES!

Seasprayluv: Pics!

Everyone else: Same here!

Me: Hehe. Bye bye! *Runs like hell with the pictures in her hands*

Everyone: AFTER HER!

Me: AHHHHH! *Angry mob chases after her*

Bree: *Still in chibi ressurection form* Whoof, whoof! (Translation: See ya later!)

Rise by Skillet

GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW ON BOTH MY STORIES!

A MEGA PILE OF COOKIES TO ALL MY FANFICTION FRIENDS!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE!

I SEND HICHIGO, SHIVA OH AND SERO AND METASTALKIA TOO, TO ATTACK ALL THOSE WHO DON'T REVIEW!

ALL FLAMES WILL BE SENT TO AIZEN SO HE MAY BURN FOREVER!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

REVIEW!

BYE BYE, JADE KUROSAKI OUT!


	34. Dragon Vs Panther

Me: Okay guys! Here's the next chapter of The Hollows Mask. This one's got some more surprise and twist in it. Hope you guys enjoy. Oh and I've just put up my Pokemon fanfiction called Saphine's Adventures in Kanto. There's only one chapter so far and I don't know exactly when I'll be able to update that one or if it will be updated regularly. But be sure that there will be plenty of chapters to come. I'm also going to put up the web address for my comics so that you all can follow them onto the sight without having to look them up.

Shiva: They're funny.

Dominique: My favorite one was the Easter one.

Mimie 13: I liked mine best!

Me: Alright, alright. Enough. Oh and the new Pokemon games are coming out in October! Eeeeek! I is so excited! I still have to get a 3DS and then the games of course, but I will get them. Sky battles, Mega forms, Horde pokemon attacks, 3D graphics, Pokemon Amie! All these new things that I can't wait to see!

Shiva: Now all they have to do is make a game where you can go to all the regions in one game.

Dominique: True dat. Starting from Kanto and going on to the newest one they're coming out with. Now that would be the most badass pokemon game ever.

Me: What would it be called though?

Shiva: It would have to be something cool.

Dominique: Pokemon Infinity!

Me: I agree with that one. But enough of the pokemon talk. This is a Bleach fanfic after all. Now time to get on with the show. I own nothing as you guys already know. But first for the deviantart strip web addresses.

**Bleach OC Insanity Question Time 1:**

gallery/#/art/Bleach-Oc-Insanity-Question-Time-1-3 42181361?_sid=3faab036

**Bleach OC Insanity Question Time 2:**

gallery/#/art/Bleach-Oc-Insanity-Crew-Question-Tim e-2-Ask-JadeKu-356901757?_sid=335d2dc1

**Bleach OC Insanity Question Time 3:**

gallery/#/art/Bleach-Oc-Insanity-Crew-Question-Tim e-3-357834693?_sid=2c9e7aa

**Bleach OC Insanity Question Time 4: **

gallery/#/art/Bleach-Oc-Insanity-Crew-Question-Tim e-4-Easter-362919459?_sid=5c96507f

Me: And action!

My thanks once again to Adrian92, Scaehime, Renji55, ultima-owner, and finally Antex-The Legendary Zoroark for all your amazing reviews! They all made me smile!

**Chapter 34: Dragon Vs Panther**

Bree's POV

I was so confused. I didn't know what was going on. I was surrounded by familiar and yet unfamiliar faces at the same time. I knew I had to follow them. The familiar faces were safe. I didn't know about the unfamiliar ones though. Were they safe, or were they dangerous, or perhaps they were just there, just part of the bigger picture. I didn't know. I knew I had to follow **her** though.

She was the one who saved me.

After being trapped within my own wilting mind for so long, things of the past seemed like strange blurs now. I remembered her though. Her and another girl named Emma. My best friends. Dominique and Emma. Both whom had forgotten about me long ago. After I'd traveled back in time, I'd been forced to erase every trace of my existence in their time. Of course it took some time to take effect.

My powers had only began to fully awaken when I was with Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin. My inner hollow had awakened when I was attacked in Dominique's time. I'd activated a temporal travel ability that had lied dormant within me before that moment. After that I'd time traveled a second time when Aizen attacked the vizards a hundred years ago.

I was sent back so far, I'd met the original ten shadow shinigami. And it was being around those then children that activated all my powers. They'd been able to kill many hollows, but there were too many, and there wasn't enough space in the Soul Society for all of them either. So I used all of my strength to create Hueco Mundo. I'm still not quite sure how I did it, but it nearly killed me in the process.

There was a price to pay for this sort of power though. I lost my humanity, I lost all reason, and also became the very first vasto lorde and eventually an arrancar later on. I somehow also became immortal. Not completely though. I could still die from a wound, but the body that I'd obtained never aged. I'd known that shadow shinigami had long lives if they didn't die from battle, but I'd lived over five times the full life of a shadow shinigami.

In order to deal with such a long life, I took times to let my mind sleep and just let my body run on instinct. My nature was docile, but could turn aggressive when attacked. In my whole time being here, I'd only been awakened seven times since I first slept.

I remember very little of the millennia that had passed me by thanks to my sleeping mind. I do remember that I'd had one mate that made my eternal life worth living again. One and only one that had been at my side almost sixty years ago during my sixth awakening. We'd become separated when we were ambushed by a horde of rogue vasto lordes, and I hadn't seen him since. After we'd parted, I'd fallen back into my slumber again. But then I'd been awakened for the seventh time by Aizen.

He'd offered me a place in the espadas. I'd refused, even with my age I remembered the bastard, but he didn't take no for an answer. He used one of his arrancars to force me back to sleep and then to poison me almost fifty years ago. The effects of the poison trapped me in my release state, and constantly degraded what little was left of my mind after all these years.

If it hadn't have been for Dominique, Ichigo and Rukia, I would have become Aizen's tool. I knew my body could be used as a weapon. I'd had people hunt me down many times to use my powers for their own gain before. The scales on my body could be used as impenetrable shields. My fangs and claws could be used as spears and shaped into unbreakable swords.

I was grateful that I was reunited with my friends again.

I was confused though as to where I was now though. I didn't recognize my surroundings. My mind was muddled still as it worked to remove the poison from my soul. It was a painful process. As soon as it was all gone though, I'd be able to seal my sword and to regain what little reason my mind has left. I may not be the same Bree that Dominique and the others had known, but I knew enough about them to know that they would eventually need my help.

I'd followed one of the paths that led deeper into the unfamiliar territory. I'd been hoping to catch up with Dominique or Ichigo, but I ended up following a girl with black hair and a tall man who looked Mexican. When the girl noticed me she picked me up. After she did that I felt that something was wrong.

I didn't know what it was, but I knew I had to get away from here and somewhere else. I struggled against her hold, but in my small ressurection state I couldn't really fight all that hard.

"What's wrong Bree-la"? I heard the girl ask. I tried to speak, to warn her about the others who were in danger, but all that came out was a high pitched whine. She turned away from me though when a loud explosion shook the air. I could see out of the corner of my eye that the Mexican boy was fighting one of the arrancars. I continued to get my point across to the girl though, but she didn't listen.

"Bree-la settle down. You don't wanna get mixed up in that fight". She said, thinking that I wanted to help that fight. I shook my head violently. I could feel that this fight would end with the boy winning against the arrancar, but Ichigo's fight was getting worse. I tried to tell her to let me go, but all that came out was another loud whine. After a tremor shook the ground the girl began to move. I continued to try and break free of her hold though.

She continued to ignore me though! And that's when I sensed the approaching reiatsu. It was strong, several times stronger than the arrancar they'd been facing earlier. I froze in fear. I'd felt this reiatsu before, but it wasn't Szayellaporro, but someone even stronger. I felt the desire to flee go through my whole body. I looked up at the girl holding me as she looked at the espada in surprise.

She went to run to the boy, but I had to get out of here, so I did the only thing I could think of.

I sneezed.

After I did that, my teleportation ability activated. The sound of gale force winds filled my head and the world turned dark as we teleported, hopefully to either Ichigo or Dominique.

Ichigo's POV

Seeing that Dominique was alive was such a relief. Even though I'd known she hadn't been killed, when her reiatsu had vanished I'd nearly freaked out. And when I'd been stabbed by Ulquiorra earlier, I'd felt something. When I look back, it felt similar to the time Dominique had flipped out on Sokyoku Hill. Through the darkness that had surrounded me, I still felt her presence.

Now she stood over me, healing the rest of my wounds while Orihime healed Grimmjow's from when he fought against Ulquiorra. I could see her hands resting on me as she healed me with a healing shadow, as if trying to make sure I was still there. She looked calm enough, but I could tell there was something brewing under the surface. I then noticed a sniffling sound. I looked down and saw Nel crouched by my feet.

I bent down and rested my hand on her head gently. She sniffled again as she looked up at me. I smiled at her warmly to reassure her.

"Come on now. Don't look at me like that. I'll be alright". I told her gently. She continued to stare up at me with tears in her eyes.

"B-but Ichigo...Ichigo...". She began. Then Dominique kneeled by me and smiled at Nel encouragingly as well.

"Ichigo will be alright. Ichigo's gotten even stronger". Dominique said gently. I stood up and saw Orihime looking worried as her Shun Shun Rikka flew around her before being sealing back into their hairpin forms.

"The same goes for you Orihime. Trust me. I'll win". I said as I looked at the three of them. Orihime looked apprehensive, Nel looked scared, and Dominique looked proud. I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath. I then turned to face Grimmjow, who was glaring at me.

_'You ready dude'?_ I asked Hichigo.

_'Hells yeah'!_ He said with a cackle. I felt anticipation and excitement flowing through me. I was about to say something when Dominique put her hand gently on my arm. I looked down and saw that she was smiling encouragingly up at me. She leaned up and kissed my cheek chastely.

"Good luck Ichigo. Kick his ass". She told me with a smile in her voice. I nodded and smirked before putting a serious look on my face again. I turned back to Grimmjow.

"Let's take this battle elsewhere Grimmjow". I told him.

"Fine with me". He said with a scowl on his face. We both launched ourselves into the air and away from Dominique, Nel, and Orihime. I put them to the back of my mind for the moment so I could focus on the battle. I reached back and unsheathed my Zangetsu. The red/black reiatsu surged from my hand and down the blade before coming back and surrounding me as I entered my bankai state.

As I did this I began to descend and landed on ground. Although I came in a bit too fast and ended up causing a large crater where I landed. I mentally shrugged. As Dominique would say, it made my entrance even cooler. I mentally smirked at the thought. I moved so that Tensa Zangetsu pointed towards the ground as I looked up and saw that Grimmjow was smirking at me from the top of one of the pillars.

I kept my face in a serious expression, even though I could feel Hichigo was about to burst with murderous excitement. I gripped my blade more tightly and tensed up my muscles. A deranged grin appeared on Grimmjow's face.

"Are you ready"?! He yelled as he crouched down on the pillar, preparing for his own attack.

_'Finally! Let's kick this guy's ass'!_ Both Hichigo and I yelled at the same time mentally.

The both of us charged at the same time and the battle began.

Dominique's POV

I watched intently as Grimmjow and Ichigo clashed again and again. They fought across the two large pillars in front of us, sending red/black and ice blue colored shockwaves into the air and destroying anything that they came in contact with. I knew he'd win against Grimmjow. I could feel his new strength flowing through him.

"Ichigo...Ichigo...Ichigo". Came a whimpering voice from behind me. I turned my eyes from the fight to see Nel crouched down and her hands covering her ears. Orihime was trying to comfort her.

"Everything will be alright. Ichigo will win the battle". Orihime said gently to Nel.

"But you don't really know that for sure". Nel countered. Orihime went to speak again but I stepped towards them and bent down to look at Nel beside Orihime. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. I smiled at her.

"Everything will be alright. Ichigo said he'll win, therefore he will" I said to Nel as I picked her up. Then I sat her on my shoulders as I straightened back up. I held her little feet gently as she fisted her hands in my hair to keep herself steady. She acted just like how my brothers did when I gave them piggy back rides. She felt just like a little sister to me and since I never had a sister before, I would protect her just as fiercely as I would for my brothers. She continued to sniffle a moment before speaking.

"Everyone says things like that! Even if they're not sure! There's no guarantee! You can't tell anything from those words"! She said hurriedly, obviously on the verge of tears again.

"You think so"? Orihime asked. Nel turned to her to continue yelling.

"Absolutely! Ichigo's probably scared! People always talk tough when they're scared"! I smiled and spoke up.

"He's not afraid. I can see it in his eyes. I can see how much stronger he's gotten, and it's obvious that he's not making up his promise about winning. And furthermore, if Ichigo says he'll win, he will win. That's just the kind of man Ichigo is". I said as I closed my eyes.

"Do you mean it"? Nel asked me, a bit more calm now than before". I laughed gently.

"Of course. All we need to do now is wait here and have faith that Ichigo will come out of this battle victorious". I said as I felt Ichigo's reiatsu filling the air, along with Grimmjow's. I took a deep breath and looked over to Orihime, "Do you have any doubts"? I asked her. She looked at me determinately.

"I don't". She said with conviction. I watched as her hands shook gently even though her face was determined. She was nervous. I smiled to myself as I turned back to the fight. I felt Nel shake against me though. I looked up and patted her leg gently.

"Relax Nel. Trust and believe that he'll win. By believing in him, you are giving him even more strength". I said with confidence as I took a deep breath and focused back in on the battle.

They clashed again and again. The sound of their swords colliding resonated through the air. They'd moved back to the ground now. They clashed again, both of them holding their blades with both hands as they tried to get a hit in. I could see the maniacal grin on Grimmjow's face, and the determined look on Ichigo's.

Ichigo managed to move Grimmjow's blade away from him, but then Grimmjow pointed his hand at him and charged up a cero. Ichigo moved quickly and moved his sword to Grimmjow's hand to block the cero. Then Grimmjow retaliated by tossing his own blade aside and charged up a second cero instead. It made contact and caused the pillar that they'd been on to explode. I felt the pillar that we were standing on shake underneath me as the shockwaves shook through the air.

I scanned the skies with my eyes and with my senses to find Ichigo and Grimmjow. They came back into my sights again as they continued to clash their swords against one another. Each one trying to get the upper hand and get a hit in. When the smoke cleared I could see that Grimmjow was yelling something at Ichigo. I pouted, unable to hear what he was saying over the sound of the wind and the distance.

_'This sucks'._ I thought to myself. I wanted to hear what was going on.

Ichigo's POV

I'd only just been able to deflect that second cero of Grimmjow's. He'd surprised me at how he'd just tossed away his sword to attack me. As he moved to hit me with the second cero while my Tensa Zangetsu was blocking the first one I quickly used my left hand and hit the underside of his arm to send most of the cero away from me and into the pillar.

Although some of it was still able to singe me, I remained mostly unscathed. I noted that I seemed to be fighting more and more like Dominique in each battle. Thanks to her training I was using my body as well as my blade in combat. Grimmjow stood on the air and sneered at me while I kept a serious look on my face. He began laughing hysterically.

"Nice! I've been waiting a long time for this! For the chance to crush you while you're at full strength! And you feel the same way, don't you, Ichigo Kurosaki"?! He yelled at me. I kept a straight face, determined to keep quiet. I didn't want to give him any satisfaction in the knowledge that I wanted the same thing. I wanted payback for our previous fights.

"You're wrong. I didn't come here to take you on so I could crush you". I told him seriously.

_'Hell's yeah we did! We may be here to save that big boobed chick too, but we're here to end this stupid war as well'._ Hichigo cackled.

"Don't give me that pathetic lie! Now say it! Say that you can't wait to get ahold of me and rip me apart for tearing up that friend of yours! The truth is that you wanna kill me don't you"?! He yelled while pointing to himself. I felt something stir within me at those last words.

_'That feeling...it feels familiar'._ I thought to myself. Then I remembered the rage I'd felt when I'd seen him punch a hole through Rukia. The feeling was close to the rage from before, and yet it was completely different. Grimmjow continued to yell at me.

"Now I'll get my revenge. Do you understand why I've kept this scar on my chest? To remind me of my humiliation"! He said while pointing to the scar I'd given him with my Getsugatensho in our first encounter, "Let's get started! I'm gonna choke the life out of you, and finally prove which one of us is stronger"! He yelled at me with a feral grin on his face. He then turned away from me and went to retrieve his zanpakuto from the pillar he'd lodged it in.

He flipped up and landed on top of the pillar while I stayed on the ground. I'd let him make the first move, it would be much easier to react to his attacks instead of initiating my own. I kept a good grip on my Tensa Zangetsu and waited. He looked down at me in confusion.

"What now? You little weakling". He taunted, trying to get me to fly at him in a blind rage, sucks for him that that shit doesn't work on me, "After all this. You still don't look like you wanna kill me". He said, obviously disappointed. I mentally smirked while kept my face passive.

_'No, I've just gotten better at hiding my emotions than you. I wonder if Dominique's listening to this. If she is, she's probably laughing her ass off at his stupidity'._ I thought to myself with a mental smirk. I hoped she was listening in.

"You're so pathetic". He said with a pissed off look on his face.

"Is that right"? I asked, still keeping my face serious. Then he suddenly disappeared using sonido. I felt his presence coming up behind me quickly, so I leaped up. Sure enough he'd sent his blade directly into the spot I'd been half a second before.

He then crouched and leaped up at me. I twisted my body around in midair and blocked the strike he'd sent at my head. Our blades connected and the sound of screeching metal filled my ears as he tried to overpower me. He then drew back his sword and began to send dozens of strikes at me. I quickly maneuvered my blade and blocked each one of his attacks.

Then I began to charge forward and soon enough I had him falling back as I attacked him. He snarled and then we clashed blades again, both of us trying to use our strength to push the other back.

"I have a question for you. Why did you bother coming here in the first place"? He asked me.

_'To kick your ass'!_ Hichigo laughed maniacally.

_'Aizen's, Ulquiorra's, and every other enemy here too'._ I thought towards him. He chuckled darkly in anticipation. He wanted revenge against Ulquiorra for earlier. I gave Grimmjow the proper version though.

"Are you some kind of idiot Grimmjow?! I came here to rescue Orihime"! I snarled at him. Grimmjow laughed though.

"Ha! Oh really? Well if that's true, then why didn't you grab the girl and run the moment you saw her? Tell me. Were you relieved to see that she was unhurt, or at least appeared to be on the surface? Were you born naive or did you just grow up that way"? He asked with a sneer on his face. My eyes widened at the first thought that came to mind.

_'Don't tell me they raped her'?! _I yelled in my own head. Even Hichigo was stunned into silence. I felt a dark look come over my face. My teeth bared of their own accord and the strength behind my sword grew as I spoke.

"You bastards! What did you guys do to Orihime"?! I demanded. Grimmjow grinned at me.

"Good. Now that's more like it Ichigo"! He said as he pushed away from me. I looked at him in surprise. Was that just a ploy to piss me off enough to attack? I glanced at Orihime along with Dominique and Nel. She appeared to be alright.

_'Zangetsu. Tell Dominique to find out if these bastards did anything to Orihime'._ I thought to Zangetsu seriously. I felt him mentally nod.

_'Right'._ He said before the link between us weakened as he went over to speak to Dominique. I then turned my attention back to Grimmjow as he continued to speak.

"You said you came here to save that bitch. Let me enlighten you since you don't seem to get it. You're wrong. The only reason you came here was to fight. You know I'm right. Your instinct for battle is what brought you here. You're a soul reaper, and I'm a hollow. The loser of this battle will be slaughtered. It's been that way for over a thousand years! That's all the reason you need to fight got it?! Now come on"! I looked down, and a grin formed on my face. Grimmjow was just about to continue to speak, but I looked up at him.

"You're right about one thing Grimmjow...I did come here to fight you. But I'm also here to save Orihime, and to end this war. And there's one more thing you should know, I'm not a soul reaper. I'm a shadow shinigami". I said as I stood tall and squared my shoulders while tightening my grip on Tensa Zangetsu. I smirked.

_'Time to get serious'. _

Dominique's POV

I'd been watching the fight with interest, but I was still a bit miffed that I couldn't hear the conversation that was going on below, even though it was obvious that Grimmjow was yelling at Ichigo.

_'Dominique'._ I heard Zangetsu's voice ring in my head. I kept my face forward and my eyes trained on the battle below as I looked inward to Ichigo's and mine zanpakuto spirit.

_'What is it Zangetsu. Is something wrong'?_ I asked. He then relayed what Grimmjow had said to Ichigo just a short while ago. I growled loudly, and heard Nel and Orihime eep behind me in shock at my sudden outburst.

_'That's all he said to tell you'._ He said as he waited for me to find out the truth.

_'They couldn't have...'. _I thought to myself as I turned away from Ichigo's fight to look at Orihime. She appeared alright...but then again, rape wasn't so easily seen if the person who did it knew not to leave bruises on exposed body parts. Not to mention she had her Shun Shun Rikka. Orihime looked at me worriedly, waiting for me to speak.

"Orihime"? I asked her. She looked at me in surprise as her eyes widened at hearing my dark tone of voice.

"Y-yes"?!

"Did...did the arrancars here do anything to you? Did they hurt you in any way"? I asked her, almost afraid to ask.

_'I swear if any of them touched her I'll rip them apart myself'!_ Shiva snarled. I agreed completely with her. I'd seen what a rape did to someone. A girl in Squad 0 had been raped a few days before she'd joined. She'd come to the squad a broken girl, and it took months for her to even speak to anyone besides her mentor. And much longer for her to even awaken her powers fully.

"No...nobody touched me". She said slowly, a furtive look in her eyes. I cocked my head to the side. She was obviously lying, but why? Who could she possibly want to protect here?

"Please don't lie Orihime". I asked her gently, trying to persuade her to talk. She sighed.

"There were these two female arrancars...they attacked me. I think that they had been jealous of me or something. They kept saying that a human had no chance to beat an arrancar or something like that. Then Grimmjow saved me from them before bringing me to Ichigo to heal him earlier". She explained. I looked at her carefully, and saw that she was telling the truth.

"What happened to them"? I asked. I'd still kill them for hurting my friend.

"Grimmjow nearly killed them, but I healed them before we came here. Other than that, nobody else touched me or tried to hurt me". She told me truthfully. I let out a sigh in relief. She'd obviously healed any physical wounds she'd obtained, but at least she was alright. I'd make sure to kick those arrancar's asses later. At least she was untouched and now she was in our possession.

She was safe now.

_'Zangetsu. Tell Ichigo that she's alright and that nobody hurt her here besides a couple female arrancar bitches'._ I told the zanpakuto spirit. I felt him mentally nod before returning to Ichigo once more. I then smiled at Orihime before turning around to keep up with the fight. I felt Orihime's tenseness in the air though.

"Why did you ask that"? She asked timidly. I looked back at her from the corner of my eye.

"It's nothing. Just something that Grimmjow said to Ichigo". I told her nonchalantly. I saw her fidget though, unsure about my answer. I smiled at her encouragingly, "It's nothing really". I told her before turning back to the fight.

Ichigo's POV

_'Good'._ I thought as Zangetsu relayed to me what Dominique found out. I smirked at Grimmjow again, knowing the truth. Grimmjow charged forward and began attacking me. I blocked each of his strikes. I used shunpo, but then Grimmjow followed me with sonido as we continued to try and get a strike in. We broke apart as Grimmjow went to send another cero at me.

I quickly leaped away and charged up a Getsugatensho. I sent it forward, hoping that it would hit him before he'd shoot it off. Unfortunately he released the cero and what shocked me was that it managed to break apart my attack and continued to come at me. I roared and thrust my blade upward, sending the cero into the sky. And then I felt Grimmjow's presence behind me.

I twisted around and lashed my blade out to block his strike, but he'd managed to push me back and the tip of his sword nicked my left shoulder. I let out a hiss in aggravation. I twisted around and also got him with the tip of my blade across his right arm. A small spurt of blood fell through the air to land on the ground. I smirked. But then Grimmjow sonidoed away from me and charged up a cero.

He fired it off quickly, not letting it charge up fully to try and catch me off guard. I decided to try something. I put my hand out in front of me and Hichigo sent me his hollow reiatsu. I focused it as if I was trying to summon my mask, but I forced the energy into a ball in my hand like how I did with the thing Kukkaku gave us to break into the Soul Society.

A bright red orb began glowing in my hand. I smirked. I could feel that it wasn't that strong, but then again, Dominique told me her first cero blew up in her face. I just hope this one didn't. I pointed the cero at Grimmjow and as his cero came hurtling towards me I released my own cero. The red blast screamed through the air and collided with Grimmjow's.

Although it didn't destroy his cero, it weakened it so that when I cut through it with my Tensa Zangetsu, it was almost like cutting through paper. Grimmjow looked at me in shock. I smirked at him. I saw a dark look on Grimmjow's face as he came up into the air to attack me again. We clashed blades over and over again. I remembered our first fight and how he'd beat the crap out of me. I snarled as I tried to slash at his head.

Then Grimmjow disappeared again as he sonidoed to the ground. I looked behind me and saw that Grimmjow had stabbed his zanpakuto into the ground and was crouched by it. Then Grimmjow spoke up.

"You've got a nice murderous look in your eyes now. But...it's not good enough"! Grimmjow yelled as he cut his fingers on his blade before pointing his right hand up at me.. That move seemed familiar somehow.

"You're not at the level yet where I want this battle to take place"! He said as he began charging up another cero. But this one was different than the red ceros he'd released before. It was light blue, and much stronger. That's when I realized what it was.

_'A Gran Rey Cero'!_ I thought in shock. That was one of Dominique's strongest attacks. It was the cero that needed your blood in order to be activated.

_'Looks like the espadas can do it too now'._ Hichigo said darkly.

"This is the ultimate cero in which only the espada can use"! Grimmjow yelled above the sound of the Gran Rey Cero charging up. I looked at Grimmjow as I began to fall to the ground. Then I felt something familiar behind me.

_'Dominique'!_ I looked to my right and saw that if Grimmjow released his Gran Rey Cero, it would head directly towards Dominique, Orihime, and Nel! I turned back to Grimmjow, to try and stop him.

"Hold on Grimmjow! Don't release it"! I yelled at him in vain. I knew that no matter what I said, it wouldn't work on this guy. Grimmjow sneered at me as the cero finished charging.

"Gran Rey Cero"! He yelled as he sent the huge attack directly at me. I twisted around in midair and flew towards Dominique and the rest of them. I reached my left hand up and quickly summoned my mask. I turned back around and cut the cero in half, the two halves flew past the pillar were the girls were at and exploded in the air further back. I mentally sighed in relief.

_'Too close'._ I thought to myself.

"Well it's about time". I heard Grimmjow say as he grinned at me. I felt Dominique come up behind me.

"Ichigo! Seriously? I could have deflected that Gran Rey Cero myself you dummy! Leave protecting these two to me. Focus on kicking that guys ass"! She yelled at me. I turned back to look at her, but saw that Orihime was looking at me in fear.

"I-Ichigo"? She asked hesitantly. I then looked at Dominique's irritated expression before smiling behind my mask. I turned back around, not wanting to scare Orihime anymore.

"Sorry Dominique. Reflex you know". I heard Dominique sigh.

"I know, I know. Just keep your mind on your part of the fight. I'll take anything that comes this way. So go on and finish this guy off now". She said with a smile in her voice. I then spoke up to Orihime.

"Sorry, I know this frightens you Orihime. This probably brings back some bad memories for you. There's nothing to worry about though. I'll leave you in Dominique's hands. I'll finish this quickly". I said as I turned my attention back to Grimmjow.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! It's about time! Now we can get down to business"! He yelled gleefully as he rested his hand on the blade of his zanpakuto. He curled his fingers into claws and crouched down as his reiatsu began to skyrocket, "Grind, Pantera"! He yelled as he swiped his fingers down the length of the blade. An explosion surrounded him and I lost sight of him. A huge gust of wind swirled around him, making my outfit snap this way and that.

"Orihime. Use your Santen Kesshun to protect you and Nel until this is over. No matter what happens, don't take it down". I told her. She hesitated.

_'She's still afraid of me. This explains why Dominique was so cautious about showing me her hollow side at first. I could have been the same way. Thank goodness for Dominique's training style'._ I thought to myself.

"Do it now". I said a little bit more firmly.

"R-right. Of course Ichigo. Santen Kesshun, I reject". She stuttered. I felt the energy of her shield go through the air. I didn't risk looking back, but I felt a familiar hand touch my right shoulder. I looked down and saw that it was Dominique's pale, half hollowfied hand. Her claws resting on my bankai top gently. She'd hollowfied as well. At least she'd be able to protect Orihime and Nel better in this form. I smiled, even though I knew she couldn't see it.

I then realized that silence had fallen. I looked back towards Grimmjow and saw that the last of the sand had fallen to the ground, exposing him in his ressurection state. His hair had grown longer, and his body had changed to look like that of a feline with large blade-like horns on his arms and legs. A tail swished behind him as he moved to stand up.

"Grrrr...RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH"! Grimmjow roared so loudly that it sent massive shockwaves blasting through the air. It was like being hit with a tornado strength gust of wind.

_'What the hell?! The shockwave?! He generates that much power just from roaring'!?_ I thought to myself. I remembered that when Dominique roared in her full hollow state, it had been enough to cause distortions in the air, but this guy was so much smaller than she'd been. How could he create so much power? I looked back and saw that Dominique's wings were raised and were keeping the worst from Orihime and Nel, but I could tell that even she was having difficulty with it. I turned back around and saw Grimmjow directly in front of me. I hadn't even felt him use sonido. I hadn't expected his speed to increase that much.

"Dammit". I couldn't react in time to block his punch. The force of it sent me flying off to the right and through two more pillars. I felt the stone breaking beneath the force of the impact, but I didn't feel any pain from the collision since my reiatsu was flowing heavily from me. I could still feel it, but it didn't hurt at least.

I then felt Grimmjow come up behind me. I moved to block him, but with his newly increased speed I could only stop some of his attack. I was sent up into the air as I pushed away from him, then he tried to get behind me again. He raised one of his clawed hands at me as he looked at me with a deranged look on his face. I twisted around and as he went to strike me all he hit was my foot. At that exact instant I kicked off and sent myself plummeting towards a large pillar below me.

When I landed I caused a huge crater to form in the pillar, and a huge cloud of dust, sand, and other debris to fly into the air. I decided to use this as cover. I moved silently and without using shunpo to leave the large cloud of dust.

"What's wrong with you?! I know you can do better than that! Come out and fight". Grimmjow taunted me. I smirked as I leaped up into the air behind him. Switching to sonido at the last moment to get directly behind him. I raised my Tensa Zangetsu into the air.

"Getsugatensho"! I yelled as I sent the attack directly at his back. Smoke filled the air as Grimmjow disappeared. I paused a moment.

"Hahahahaha! Yeah Ichigo! That's what I'm talking about! Those eyes! I hate those damn eyes! And that's why you gotta DIE"! He yelled with joy as he emerged from the smoke. I simply looked at him. A smirk appeared on my face though.

_'Let's finish this'!_ Hichigo and I said at the same time.

Orihime's POV

I couldn't believe it. I knew that Ichigo could put on a hollow mask and get even stronger, but I hadn't anticipated the way that I would react when I saw his face. I felt a shudder of fear travel down my back when I saw his eyes. They reminded me of Sora's eyes when he came after me, dark and unreflective. Ichigo had tried to play it off though, trying to comfort me, but his voice was even worse.

Then I saw Dominique transform into a hollow as well. The same mask as Ichigo's was on her face, but the marking on the mask were different, and her skin had turned ivory white and her fingers had turned into claws. Then there were the wings and tail. I saw that she had opened her wings in a move to help protect us from the heavy wind, and her tail was swishing side to side slowly. I tried to speak, only to have the words die in my throat.

Fear kept me from speaking up. Even though I'd been taken captive by these arrancars, they hadn't scared me as much as seeing my friends turn into hollows. Even though Ichigo was only wearing a mask while Dominique looked like some sort of serpent creature. I still put up my Santen Kesshun though, just as Ichigo had asked. The bad thing was that I wasn't totally sure if I was protecting myself from the fight, or from my hollowfied friends. The thought made my heart wrench painfully.

I watched as Nel began to play with Dominique's tail, the part that was below my Santen Kesshun, she was still paying attention to the battle, but she tugged on the tail gently as it swayed like a cat's tail.

Dominique stiffened and for an instant I'd thought she'd be mad, that she'd go crazy like Sora did when he attacked me. She turned around and I saw her look at Nel with her mask on. She looked terrifying that way, but then she did something unexpected. She moved her hand up and moved her mask to the side of her face to show that she was smiling sweetly at Nel. Even though her eyes looked murderous, her smile was the exact opposite.

Then Dominique coiled her tail around Nel and lifted her up into the air gently. She moved her tail so that Nel was sitting on it like a swing at a park. Nel began to laugh happily. Then Dominique turned to look at me.

"What? You want a ride"? She asked in her hollowfied voice, her eyes looking at me with humor in them, even if they were terrifying. I blanked at her in confusion before Dominique laughed, "I'm kidding. I'm kidding. That look on your face though was just too perfect". She said with another laugh, her clawed hands up in the air beside her face trying to pacify me. I sighed in relief. Then I noticed that I was suddenly more comfortable around her now. My eyes widened in shock at this realization.

Then Dominique winked at me before turning back to the fight.

_'What was that for'?_ I thought to myself. Dominique, seemingly able to read my mind, answered.

"It's natural for you to feel fear around me and Ichigo in our hollow states. But I can see that you're starting to chill out now. You know, I actually had expected Ichigo to act like how you're acting when I began training him. I kept waiting for him to freak out like I'd seen so many other newbies at Squad 0. He was such a natural though. He's taken this life all into stride. Although he's got some rough patches here and there, I couldn't be more proud of him". She said with heavy emotion in her metallic sounding voice.

_'So my fear is natural'?_ I asked myself. Dominique continued to talk as explosions sounded around us from the fight.

"I'd freaked out the first time I'd seen a fully hollowfied shadow shinigami too. I watched as two shadow shinigamis' bodies tore themselves apart as they became hollows before trying to kill each other. That fear though is something to learn from. I've learned to experience fear and overcome it. But then again, there are some fears that will never go away, no matter how much you toughen yourself up. But that's life, so what can ya do"? Dominique said with a shrug. I gripped my left arm with my right hand.

"Why do you look this way though while Ichigo's only wearing a mask"? I hesitantly asked Dominique. Her shoulders shook, at first I didn't understand why, but then I heard her giggle with her metallic voice.

"Because I'm in my half hollow form right now while Ichigo is only in his first masked state. He has yet to obtain his full hollow form. All shadow shinigami have a masked state, but there are those who have hollow forms as well. Ichigo and I are of this class even though he's yet to hollowfy on his own yet". She told me. I nodded to myself.

"Is this your only hollow form then"? I asked.

"No. I'm an unusual case is Squad 0 though. I have a total of four forms. A masked state, a half hollow state, a full hollow state, and finally a vasto lorde state. I am the only one is Squad 0 history to have a total of four forms. Ichigo will probably only have two states. A masked and a full hollow state. I'm not risking his life to try for a vasto lorde form though". She said seriously.

I stood there and thought hard about what Dominique said. Even though she was, as she called it; in her half hollow form, she was in total control of herself. And Ichigo was fighting just like he normally did, even with his mask on. Even though his reiatsu felt sinister and sent shivers down my spine from the fear it caused, I knew he was in total control of himself too. He wasn't really a hollow, but the hollow was a part of him.

I took a deep breath to relax myself and forced the fear out of my mind. No matter what, I shouldn't be afraid of my friends. They came all this way to rescue me, even though I'd come here to try and help them. I needed to put my faith in everyone here and help out any way I can. I tensed up my muscles in my arms and squared my shoulders.

_'I will not be afraid and I will help my friends to end this war'._ I thought to myself determinedly. I may not be able to fight like Dominique and Ichigo, but I could protect them and heal them.

"Thank you Dominique". I whispered quietly.

_'I won't be a burden ever again'._

Mimie's POV

When I opened my eyes I was met with the familiar sight of Karakura Town. We'd some how'd been teleported to the World of the Living. I looked around and saw that we were on one of the tallest buildings here. I had no clue what was going on, but whatever was going on was definitely not good. I moved to stand up and felt something tucked into my arms. I looked down and saw Bree still in my arms, but now there was something different about her.

She seemed to be spasming. Her little body was twitching viciously and she would let out a pained whimper every time she spasmed. Something was definitely wrong. I reached into my infinite back portal and grabbed a piece of fudge. I then brought the small treat to Bree's tiny face.

"Bree-la? What's wrong"? I asked, confused as to why she was spasming so badly. I couldn't feel any cause that I recognized. There was no toxic gas in the air, there was no major reiatsu here that could hurt her, and she was uninjured. The spasming only got worse though.

That was when I felt a reiatsu appear behind me. I lashed around and made my fingernails turn into talons, ready to attack whoever decided to sneak up on me. Whoever it was, was probably the person hurting Bree. I stopped in my tracks though when I saw a familiar face.

"Dominique"? I breathed in shock. The girl looked exactly like the one in Hueco Mundo, but was wearing a black t-shirt, and faded blue jeans. She sniffed the air lightly.

"Who are you and how do you know my shadow shinigami's name"? The girl asked, her fist clenched. Then it hit me. This was a mod soul. Of course. Dominique was a member of Squad 0, so it was obvious that she'd leave her body in the care of her assigned mod soul. This one was well trained too. It acted just like it's shadow shinigami.

"I'm Mimie 13, and my group has been assisting Dominique in Hueco Mundo against the espada". I told her with a friendly smile on my face. She looked at me seriously for a moment. I retracted my talons to show her that I wasn't a threat. Then I noticed that she wasn't looking at me, but at Bree.

"Who's that"? She asked.

"This is Bree-la and she needs help". I told her. The mod soul continued to look at Bree though.

"But it's a hollow". The mod soul said indifferently.

"But she's also Dominique's friend". I told her seriously. The mod soul nodded and then reached for her. I tightened my grip on Bree ever so slightly. She noticed my hesitation and smiled at me.

"I'm taking you two to see someone that might be able to help. Can you use shunpo or sonido"? She asked me. I nodded. She backed off before saying, "Follow me then". She said as she took off into the air. I leaped up and stepped on the air to follow the mod soul towards a small candy shop.

She landed on the ground and stepped through the slightly open door into the shop. I saw all sorts of candy and sweets as we walked towards the back. When we made it to the back room we were greeted by a man who was wearing a green and white stripped hat and traditional Japanese clothing. The girl then motioned for me to sit down on one of the cushions at the table where the man was eating breakfast.

I sat down, but kept Bree close to me. The man looked at me in shock. I fidgeted under his probing gaze. The man smiled and pulled out a fan to wave it at me.

"Where are my manners? I'm Kisuke Urahara and this is my humble little shop"! The man said with a smile on his face. My eyes widened in shock.

"Wait. You're **the** Kisuke Urahara. The previous captain of Squad 12"? I asked. He nodded.

"The very same one. Although I'm just a lowly merchant now". He said as he waved his fan at me as if to dismiss. Then he paused a moment as he saw Bree. I saw his carefree eyes turn serious at once, "Who's that"? He asked seriously.

"Her name's Bree, and-". He cut me off.

"I see. There appears to be something wrong with her". He said seriously. I nodded.

"I was helping this guy named Chad fight an arrancar when she appeared. She started freaking out and then suddenly we were in the World of the Living". I explained. He put his hand to his chin as he thought about what I told him. Then he stood up and walked forward towards Bree and me. I tightened my grip on her, fearing that he would hurt her.

Instead he knelt down beside me and rested his hand gently on Bree's round head. A warm smile on his face.

"It's been a long time old friend". Urahara said to her before looking at me, "If you don't mind, please follow me". He said to me as he stood back up and began to walk down a hallway, deeper into the place. He tapped his knuckles against a wall panel. A door opened up and suddenly we were in a dark room that was filled with different machines and other strange things.

I followed him inside and watched as he began pressing buttons on a machine. It hummed to life and he came over to me. I paused, unsure of what he was about to do.

"If you would please"? He asked, holding his arms out. I gently handed him Bree, who was still spasming. He carried her carefully to the machine that he activated. He set her on a small dais and it began to glow. I heard the machine begin making a lot of various noises that hurt my ears. As soon as it started though, it stopped. Urahara looked at a computer screen as the machine's humming died down.

"What did you do"? I asked him, my curiosity getting the better of me. Urahara turned to look back at me, his face serious.

"It's just as I feared. I hadn't known a whole lot on this subject, but it fits in with what I do know". I was confuzzled. What was he talking about?

"What do you mean"? I asked. He shook his head as he walked over to Bree. He lifted her gently from the dais and set her down on a small round cat bed. Then he stood back up and looked at me.

"The reason she's like this is because she's left her home. She hasn't left Hueco Mundo for over ten thousand years. She shouldn't have been able to leave Hueco Mundo in the first place, but when she did this activated". He said as he reached down towards Bree. But he didn't touch her. Instead he grabbed something just above her. When he pulled, a dark red glow appeared around his hand. The glow grew and suddenly a bright silver chain became visible.

The glowing silver chain was wrapped around her neck and body. It pulsed, as if it was alive. I noticed something else as well, every time the chain pulsed, Bree would spasm. That was the thing that was causing her pain. I looked closely at the chain, and then without even noticing, walked to kneel beside Bree. My attention was on the silver chain though.

It's silver glow was so pretty, and I felt myself being drawn to it, and not just me, but the other me as well. This beautiful thing was bringing the other me to the surface, but she wasn't bloodthirsty like she normally was. She was just as drawn to the chain as I was. I reached out and tried to touch the chain, only to have my hand smacked away suddenly.

I let out a hiss, and felt the other me go back into the recesses of my mind. My eyes widened and I backed away from the alluring chain. Nothing had ever done that to me before. It had been like hearing another voice in my head, a voice that had total control over my body. I looked up at Urahara questioningly.

"What the hell is that thing"? I asked, suddenly out of breath. He looked at me solemnly.

"Something that I'd only read briefly about in a few Squad 0 archives. Something that could very well mean the end of Hueco Mundo. Something that ties in with the Keisechu".

_'The Keisechu'?! _

"Sōsaku no rensa (The Chain of Creation)".

Dominique's POV

Something had changed in Ichigo. It wasn't his personality, or his style of fighting, or anything else that would seem huge, but something had changed.

His mask.

His mask was no longer like mine. When he turned around, I saw that the estigmas on his mask were no longer on one side of his face. There were no longer multiple lines marking the left side of his mask, but instead there were two straight lines going from the top of the mask down to the bottom that went over his eyes. The shape of the mask was still exactly the same, but the estigmas had changed.

Did this mean that Ichigo's hollow powers were changing too?

I didn't know what was going on. I knew I'd been a special case in Squad 0, what with me having two hollows for the better half of four years. Was this mask that I wore supposed to be only Ichigo's, or is the fact that I had half of his hollow within me the cause of the change in his original mask? Perhaps the mask he's wearing now was supposed to be the one I wore, while he was supposed to have this mask. Maybe it was none of these things and it was just the evolution of our powers.

That's when I realized something. Even though Ichigo is considered a normal starter in the squad, his rate of development is phenomenal. I'd developed quickly as well, even though I had no one to teach me before I'd joined the squad. But when I did join, I aced all of my classes, excelling in each subject and progressing at an unusual rate, even for an early starter such as myself.

His rate of progress was such that it blew mine out the water, and rivaled the rate that Rose told me that she developed when she first joined the squad. She'd been born into the squad, and had shown the first signs of her abilities at the young age of seven. The fourth youngest in history. Only one other captain from a long time ago started earlier than she did, and then the other three ended up dying from their own powers and never became full members of the squad.

I'd been the fifth shadow shinigami to obtain one's powers before turning 13, and the third to have lived to see my 15th birthday.

Then again, it doesn't really matter what age you get your powers, there's always a risk with it. Those who start too early are likely to die or become vizards, if you start late then you're likely to end up hating this life and end up giving up your powers on your 21st birthday, but those who start showing their powers around the ages of 13 and 16 usually have no trouble awakening their abilities, but can still be affected by the other two effects depending on the age that they start out.

Ichigo didn't seem to have these problems though. He's a regular starter, but his rate of development is at an early starter level. It was something that I'd never heard of, but it also made me proud of him. I watched as he fought the sixth espada. He was keeping up with the espada in his ressurection state with ease. They were both pretty even at the moment. But I had to wonder...

With this change in Ichigo...had he crossed the threshold he needed to in order to fully hollowfy yet?

The battle was growing even more fierce. The sounds of clanging metal, snarls, and roars filled the air as they tried to kill each other. I used my enhanced sight to keep up with every detail of the fight, even if my enhanced hearing couldn't hear what they were saying over the sounds of the battle noise. Oh well. I'll just get a replay from Ichigo later.

I watched as Grimmjow went to point his elbow at Ichigo. At first this confused me, but then I saw five small claw looking things that came from between the armor that covered Grimmjow's body.

When I first saw Grimmjow's ressurection state, the first thought that came to mind had been that he was a blue kitty. I suddenly wanted a ball of yarn, and a bag of catnip to see if he'd be affected by it. I wondered if he was afraid of vacuum cleaners, and water spray bottles like a normal kitty was. I'd been brought out of my thoughts when I realized the angle that Grimmjow was facing.

He was pointing at us up here on the pillar! I raised my blade and lowered into a crouch as Grimmjow fired them off. I charged up the reiatsu in my body and covered my zanpakuto with it. I raised my blade up to strike the five shots that were coming at me. Preparing to send my black Getsugatensho at them.

I began to swung down, just as Ichigo appeared in front of me and got it my way. He was planning on taking the hits for us. Just like I told him not to!

_'The damned fool'!_ I mentally screamed as I moved around him using sonido and felt five very powerful projectiles slam into my back. Three of them ripped through my wings, imbedding themselves into my back, one going into my left arm and the other one landing directly in my right wing joint. The pain was bad, these little projectiles had some serious punch in them. I felt anger rise up in me.

"DAMMIT ICHIGO! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO KEEP YOUR ATTENTION ON YOUR FIGHT AND THAT I'D DEAL WITH ANYTHING THAT CAME OUR WAY. YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO TAKE ANYMORE DAMAGE JUST FOR THE SAKE OF PROTECTING US"! I screeched at him as he turned around. Damn, why can't he listen? I watched as his eyes widened and he moved to try and help me. I caught his hand with my clawed one, growling at him in warning.

"Dominique...". He said, but at least he stopped moving towards me. I growled again.

"Finish this fight. Stop worrying about me. Have you forgotten that this body has the instant regeneration ability"? I asked him, panting as little as I could, my right wing hung limply from my back, and the feeling of blood dribbling down my back and onto my limp wing. At least the projectiles hadn't gone through all the way and pieced any vital organs. Although I felt a punctured lung, I could deal with that.

_'I swear the next time I see him I'm gonna kick his ass myself for that stupid stunt he just pulled'._ Shiva growled to herself, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Go down there and fight. Kick this guy's ass, and leave protecting Orihime and Nel to me or so help me I'll sick Shiva on your ass". I said, growling to make him know I was serious while pointing down at Grimmjow. He didn't say anything, but nodded and sonidoed several meters away from me before landing on the ground in front of Grimmjow. I sighed.

_'What am I going to do with that guy of mine'?_

Ichigo's POV

"I'm gonna take you down Ichigo Kurosaki"! Grimmjow yelled at me as I was pushed back into a pillar. He paused to look at me with a smirk on his face. I panted, the effects of wearing my mask were beginning to take.

"I see you've increased the amount of time you can sustain that mask since we last met. Have you been training since then, or have you been ignorantly gaining experience in the battles you've had since the last time we've fought"? He asked.

_'He's got a point there. I can tell that my time's increased a lot'._ I thought to myself.

"It doesn't matter. In fact I'm glad. It wouldn't be any fun if your mask cracked to quickly, like it did last time"! He yelled as he charged at me. I suddenly felt ticked off. Last time I'd nearly been able to kill him, but when my mask broke I'd missed my chance. As Grimmjow came at me, his claws pointed directly at my face, I raised my hand up and caught his hand an inch from my face. I smirked.

"So. You worried about this fight being boring? I'll spice it up for you then"! I said as I slashed my blade across his chest, letting a large spurt of blood to fly through the air as he jumped away from me.

_'Hell yeah! Kick that fur ball's ass'!_ Hichigo cackled.

"You know what I think would be really boring? If you weren't in your released state. So do me a favor, and stay just the way you are"! I said as I charged at him. I threw my blade towards his side, but he managed to bring up his arm blade to block it. Then he turned to kick me in the side, but I brought my elbow up to block it. He leaped away from me and then began to spin at high speed.

He looked like a fuzzy blue tornado. In the back of my head I was torn between laughing at him, and wanting to stay serious. I stayed serious as he went to rake his claws down my face. I ducked out of the way, but then I noticed something familiar about the move.

Flashback

"Grrraaaaa"! Dominique yelled as she and I trained underneath the vizards' hangout. She was training me by showing me how to react to different arrancar type attacks. We'd started off with various attacks such as bala and cero. Then she began training me while in her various hollow forms. At the moment she was in her half hollow state.

She'd said that this was a good way to gain experience since many arrancars had animal based resurrections. You never knew if your opponent might have wings, tails, claws, or body armor. She came charging at me, flashing her claws and her tail lashing through the air. I managed to duck around her claws, but then I was caught off guard by her tail slamming into my head and sending me flying to the ground.

I crashed to the ground heavily and felt my mask break apart again. I panted with exhaustion, leaning my head back against the rock I'd landed against. I could hear Hiyori laughing at me a short distance away. Her voice was pissing me off, but I really didn't have the energy to tell her to shut up. I felt a familiar presence coming closer. I opened one eye and saw Dominique, still in her half hollow form walking towards me.

Her mask was resting on the side of her head, and she was smirking at me, her gold/black eyes glinting playfully, yet seriously at the same time. She stopped a couple feet in front of me, her hands resting on her hips.

"Gotta work on your timing. Remember, arrancars with tails won't be afraid to use them". She said as she waved her tail in front of her playfully. Then she returned to her normal form and began walking away.

"Where are you going"? I asked her. She giggled.

"I'm giving you a ten minute break. Be ready to go at it again by then. Then after another hour training session, we'll go get dinner. Remember, ten minutes"! She laughed as she walked away to go talk with Lisa. All I could do was thump my head back down on the rock as I tried to let my body rest until the next beating.

"Keh. Ruthless dragon".

End Flashback

He was about to use his tail! I looked up and sure enough, his tail was about two feet from colliding with my head. I reached up and grabbed it, before sending him flying off to the side. I'd considered cutting the tail off, but after seeing how much Dominique get pissed when Johnathan had bitten off her tail in the Leaders Match, I decided I better not try that.

Instead I turned my blade so that it would rake across his left leg. It cut through his hierro armor and blood poured from the wound. Grimmjow twisted around in the air and tried to come back at me again. I sent a Getsugatensho flying at him, but he dodged the crescent blast. As he came around the blast, he tried to hit me with his arm blades again.

I twisted around and sent my foot up and smashed it against the wound in his chest. I heard him gasp in pain and I sent a punch flying at his face. I swung my blade downward and he parried it with his arm blade. We leaped away from each other and both landed on the ground.

"Ha! Take this"! Grimmjow yelled as he sent several small projectiles directly at me that came from his elbow. I quickly dodged them and went to initiate the next attack when I felt Dominique's reiatsu rise. I looked back and saw that the projectiles were heading right for her and the others.

"Dominique"! I yelled as I sonidoed to her out of instinct. All thought of the fight left my mind and the only thing I could think of was stopping those projectiles. I moved to position myself in front of them. I would take the hits instead, I braced myself for the impact, but none came. I quickly looked around and saw that Dominique had moved herself behind me and blocked the attack herself.

She lifted her head up to glare at me. Fury evident in her black/gold eyes.

"DAMMIT ICHIGO! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO KEEP YOUR ATTENTION ON YOUR FIGHT AND THAT I'D DEAL WITH ANYTHING THAT CAME OUR WAY. YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO TAKE ANYMORE DAMAGE JUST FOR THE SAKE OF PROTECTING US"! She screamed at me harshly. I reached my hand out to her, but her hand suddenly appeared and gripped my wrist tightly, her claws digging into my flesh, although not enough to pierce the skin.

"Dominique...". I said. She growled again.

"Finish this fight. Stop worrying about me. Have you forgotten that this body has the instant regeneration ability"? She said. I saw that while one of her wings were still raised, the other one was hanging limp towards the ground and blood dribbled from the wing and her left arm.

"Go down there and fight. Kick this guy's ass, and leave protecting Orihime and Nel to me or so help me I'll sick Shiva on your ass". I nodded, quickly sonidoing away and landing back on the ground. A shiver ran down my back while Hichigo laughed.

_'Our girlfriends are scary'._ He snickered.

_'Tell me about it'. _I agreed. I looked over to Grimmjow, who was looking at me with a confused look on his face. Then his face broke out into a superior grin.

"I'm surprised that girl of yours is still standing. Then she ordered you back to the fight. Man, you're whipped". He laughed with a sneer on his face. I growled while Hichigo laughed again. After a short while I smirked. Grimmjow seemed to be out of breath, I wasn't in tip top shape myself, but then again, I'd gotten more hits in than he did.

"She may have taken the hits, but she's a lot stronger than she looks". I pointed out. Grimmjow's smirk disappeared as he raised his elbow out behind him. Another projectile appeared and shot off towards one of the large pillars a ways away. When the projectile hit, the pillar exploded. My blood went cold. If I hadn't have interfered, she would have just blasted them away with an attack, but instead I forced her to take five of those hits.

"She took five of those. Didn't you wanna protect her or something? Looks like you did a crappy job of it Ichigo". Grimmjow sneered at me. I sighed quietly while sliding into a crouch.

"As I said before, she's stronger than she looks. She's definitely stronger than me, don't you remember you going against her in the World of the Living? She was kicking your ass". I said with humor in my voice. Grimmjow glared at me as he raised his right clawed hand behind his head.

"Tch".

"Looks like you're starting to tire out yourself Grimmjow. Perhaps you should just go ahead and give up now". I said, knowing it would piss him off.

"You're dead wrong"! He yelled as he charged forward.

Dominique's POV

I moved back onto the pillar, in front of Orihime and Nel who were still behind the barrier. I hissed in pain as my messed up wing knocked the floor of the pillar. I couldn't move the damn thing thanks to the projectile that was stuck in the wing joint.

"Dominique"? Nel asked worriedly.

"Don't worry Dominique. I'll heal you". Orihime said determinedly as she raised her hands up to her hairpins. I shook my head.

"No. I've got this. And remember Orihime, no matter what you see, just remember that I'm still me. I may take on a different form, but you don't need to be afraid". I told her. A fearful look flashed over her face for a moment, before being replaced with a determined look.

"Of course. I trust you Dominique". She said with a steady voice. I smiled at her and nodded. I walked away from the two of them, didn't want to accidentally hit them with something. I let my hollow nature rise up as my reiatsu surrounded me to conceal my hollowfication. My body numbed as it grew and changed. I fell onto all fours as I finished hollowfying into my full hollow state.

I felt my wing heal and the five projectiles that had been imbedded in my flesh get pushed out while my lung healed. I rolled my shoulders and checked my wings, stretching them and testing their strength. Everything was good, so I walked back over to Orihime and Nel. I laid down in front of them, that way they could still see the fight and I could still react to anything that came our way. I rested my head on my claws and let out a relaxed sigh.

I opened my mouth and smelled a familiar scent in the air. Fear. I looked over at Orihime and Nel and saw that Orihime was looking at me with fear in her eyes again, but at least it was nowhere near as bad as it had been earlier. She had a better grip on it this time. I opened a mind link with her.

_'Hello'._ I said cheerily.

"Eep"! She squeaked in shock and surprise. I chuckled, the deep raspy sound resonating from deep within my throat.

_'Chill out Orihime. Still me here, just in my full hollow form now. As you can see, I is a dragon'._ I said as I waved my tail in the air as if to say hello.

"I guess I'd expected you to stay the same size or something. And I hadn't expected to hear you in my head". She admitted with an embarrassed blush on her face as she scratched the back of her head. I chuckled again.

_'Nah. This is actually a technique that most shadow shinigami learn to do. It's easier to talk this way than to try with my mouth. The obvious reason being that this big muzzle was not meant for easy human speech. Human talk comes out all gurgled and hissy sounding, makes me sound like I'm pissed all the time, but dragon speak is easy. Even if there's not a whole lot of other dragons to talk to'._ I told her, a rumbling sound coming from my chest. Then I noticed that Nel seemed to want to climb on my back, but was having difficulty in doing so. I shook my head.

I moved my tail over to her and wrapped it around her tiny body before moving her back behind the barrier with Orihime. I then opened a mental link with her too.

_'Sorry Nel. It's too dangerous to hang out here. You need to stay behind the barrier. I'm like this so that I can protect you guys better. You stay back there and don't get into any trouble'._ I told her seriously.

_'Yeah kid. It's dangerous out here, and that's why it's Dominiques job to keep you two safe. Leave the dangerous stuff to the shadow shinigami'._ Shiva jumped in. I sighed. Everybody else froze. Nel looked confused, while Orihime looked around for the other speaker.

"Who was that"? Orihime asked as she turned to look back at me. I let out an annoyed sigh.

_'Thank you for your input Shiva'._ I said sarcastically. I felt her mentally smirk.

_'No problem'._ She said with an obviously fake girly voice. I sighed again.

_'Stupid hollow'._

_'Hey'!_

"Who are you talking to Dominique"? Nel asked. I sweat dropped.

_'My inner hollow Shiva. She's the being that allows me to be able to hollowfy. Each shadow shinigami is born with an inner hollow as well as a zanpakuto spirit. Ichigo's got one too. His inner hollow is named Hichigo. Both of our hollows look just like us, but albino, and the same black and gold eyes that we have in our hollow states'._ I explained.

_'That just means that we're cooler than you guys'._ Shiva butted in again.

_'Shut it. And you are so not cooler than me'._ I scoffed. Orihime and Nel continued to look at me in confusion, _'Shiva and Hichigo are what we shadow shinigami call, our basic instincts. Inner hollows can have identical personalities to their shadow shinigami, or exact opposites. In my case, Shiva's just a louder, more rude version of me'._ I said with a mental smirk.

_'Shut up'!_ She whined.

_'You're the one who started it'._ I told her.

"So your inner hollows are like the darker parts of you"? Orihime asked. I nodded my head.

_"Yeah. Think of ying and yang. Neither one totally good, yet neither one completely bad either. We balance each other out. But for all intents and purposes, we're technically the same person'._ I said.

_'Dominique. I think you need to pay more attention to the fight. Something's going on down there'._ Shiva said, suddenly serious. I moved my head over and sure enough I could see that the battle had escalated. I could see that Ichigo was tiring out.

His mask was breaking.

Nearly half of one side was gone and I could see that he was breathing heavily. I stood up and moved closer to the edge of the pillar, a rumbling sound rising in my throat. I could see that both Ichigo and Grimmjow were getting exhausted as they continued to try and kill each other. Both were determined not to lose though. Both of their wills were equally strong.

Then I noticed something. Ichigo was beginning to slow down. I let out a hiss as I stood at full height. Ichigo's reiatsu was fine, but his body was beginning to feel the effects of the long term use of his mask. Even if one masters the time factor of hollowfication, one must build endurance to the strength and strain that the hollowfication has upon the body.

If Ichigo did not finish this fight quickly, he could end up being damaged by his own power. As that though ran through my mind I watched as Ichigo was punched harshly into the base of the pillar that we were on. The floor shook below us and I dug my claws into the stone to keep my steady. I looked over the edge and down at Ichigo as he got unsteadily back to his feet.

I looked over at Grimmjow and saw that he was just as wobbly. They were both at their limits.

"It was fun. But now it's over". I heard Grimmjow say as he closed in on Ichigo for the kill. Fear rose up in my chest. I dug my claws into the stone and raised my head up while sucking in a deep breath.

"GGGRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"! I let loose the loudest roar that I'd ever made. It shook the ground beneath me and was ten times stronger than the roar that Grimmjow had done earlier. I looked down and saw that both Grimmjow and Ichigo were looking up at me now. I let out a hiss, and Ichigo nodded his head in understanding.

Grimmjow on the other hand was looking up at me in fear. Both of them had been so focused on their fight that they hadn't seen me fully hollowfy. I let out a growl at Grimmjow as Ichigo leaped away from the pillar. I could feel his hollow nature rising. I mentally smiled, and simply hoped that this would work.

_'Good luck. Ichigo'. _

Ichigo's POV

I was exhausted. Even though I knew that Grimmjow was in the same boat as me. Just like in my fight with Byakuya on Sokyoku Hill, I could feel my body protesting against the weight of my reiatsu. I was being crushed by my own power. Dominique had told me that this could happen. I'd asked her how could one's own body be crushed by their own reiatsu.

She'd explained that if one was not used to the force of their power, their bodies wouldn't be able to withstand the gravity distortions that the heavy reiatsu creates. Shadow shinigami were especially prone to this problem because of our naturally high volume of reiatsu. She said that with training, my body would become used to the strain and would eventually flourish with it, but this took time and lots of training.

I was feeling the effects of the lack of training now.

Over half of my masked was broken off now and there were several slashes all over my body. Grimmjow at least wasn't much better for wear though. I'd tried to get a slash at his right shoulder when he suddenly punched me and sent me flying into one of the few still standing pillars around us. This time I felt the pain of landing on the stone. Grimmjow slowly made his way over to stand in front of me.

"It was fun. But now it's over". He said as he smirked at me. I forced myself to stand up.

_'No. Not yet. I'm not finished yet'!_

"GGGRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"! A deafening roar shook through the air. While Grimmjow's roar from earlier had created a shockwave that had tornado force winds with it, this one seemed to rip through the very air and become tangible. This roar was familiar though. I looked up and sure enough, I saw Dominique standing on the pillar in which I'd crashed into. She was in her full hollow form.

She looked back down at me and let out a loud, menacing hiss. I nodded, understanding what she said, even without the mental link. I quickly stood up and moved away from the pillar. Grimmjow was distracted by the sight of Dominique's full hollow form, but quickly recovered and came at me. I knew what I had to do.

I had to hollowfy.

_'Hichigo'._ I called.

_'You ready for this dude'?_ Hichigo asked as I felt his power flow through me even stronger than before. He and I both knew what was going to happen.

"Let's do this". I said quietly as I let his hollow energy flow through me.

"Kurosaki"! Grimmjow roared as he went to impale me with his claws. I caught his hand, the exact same way as earlier. I smirked at him from behind my mask as I tossed him away from me and into a broken boulder several meters away.

"So here's the deal Grimmjow. I can't allow myself to get beaten by someone like you. Now I'm going to show you the true power of a shadow shinigami, and this battle will be over". My hollow reiatsu got even stronger, it felt similar to when I used the mask, but a hundred times stronger. It was so strong, I felt my soul reaper powers being suppressed until I could barely feel them at all, as if being sealed away by the force of my hollow reiatsu. The exhaustion I'd felt just moments before vanished as the reiatsu surged through me like a tidal wave.

And that was when the pain hit. I gasped at the pain that covered my whole body, as if I was burning alive. I looked down at my hands where the burning sensation was the strongest and watched as the skin began cracking and breaking apart. I watched as the skin broke apart and claws grew in the place of my fingers. They were long, and at the joints, there were ridges that would surely gouge flesh if I backhanded anyone.

"Agggghh"! I screamed, my metallic voice distorting even more than usual. I doubled over from the pain as the burning sensation in my chest and back grew even more intense. I felt a hollow hole melt itself into my chest as the skin on my chest began breaking apart as well. I felt something pushing out of my back where my shoulders were at and then my feet went out from underneath me as they began to change too.

_'Just a little longer'._ I thought to myself as the transformation continued. I felt my mask appear on my face while it felt like my actual face was being burned off. Then I felt a tail form from my spine. I groaned as the pain began to lessen. I felt the skin continue to break apart as my new hierro skin replaced my normal flesh. I panted as the transformation finished and the pain vanished.

I looked up and saw that I seemed to be higher off the ground than usual, and that when I tried to stand up, I found that I couldn't get to two legs. I was stuck on four legs. And that wasn't it. I looked down and found that my Tensa Zangetsu had disappeared. At first I felt a stir of panic in my chest, but then I remembered that Dominique didn't usually have a zanpakuto in her full hollow state. Perhaps I didn't need one either. After all, Grimmjow didn't have a sword, so I guessed this was fair.

"What the hell did you just do"? Grimmjow snarled at me, his attention away from the fully transformed Dominique up on the pillar. I turned to look at him, mentally smirking, this mask keeping me from making facial expressions. I opened my mouth to speak, but only a gurgling growl came out. Well that explains why Dominique never actually speaks while in this form. I shook my head before digging my claws into the sand.

I bunched up my muscles and felt how this body naturally moved. After experiencing how a dragon's body moved through Dominique's memories, I had the gist of how to move in this body. But then again, it was completely different experiencing it first hand for myself.

Dominique's POV

Ichigo's full hollow form was surprising. This form was nothing like the form from before. His mask had the same two estigma markings as before, and his mask had elongated much like my own hollow mask in my full hollow state. He'd also grown a pair of horns on his head. But instead of them pointing back they jutted forward almost like a bull's horns, but at a sharper angle. He also had dark red fur around his throat, where his long neck began.

His body was also different than my hollow form. While my body was long and lean with extremely long legs, Ichigo's body was a bit shorter than mine, but also more muscular. His limbs were also shorter and more muscled. He had arm blades like I did, and his front hands ended in similar claws as mine did, but had ridges on the joints unlike mine.

He didn't appear to have any wings though. Instead there were five long spines jutting out from his shoulder blades where the wings would be. I cocked my head to the side. Perhaps they were retractable wings? I wouldn't know until he did so I'd just have to be patient. His body estigmas were the same as before, the same wavy lines going down his arms and legs as well as his back down to his long tail.

They were the same color too, bright red. Another difference between his old incomplete hollow state and this one was that he didn't have his spiky hair, his mask created a full head like mine did. In fact the only hair-like substance on his body was the red fur around the base of his neck and on his wrist and ankles.

I didn't really care though. Ichigo had successfully hollowfied. And that's all that mattered to me.

Ichigo's POV

Grimmjow looked at me in shock, unsure of what just happened in front of him. I laughed, the same hissing cough came from my through that Dominique made when she laughed in her full hollow state. I released the tension in my muscles and felt myself shoot forward at a surprising speed. My arms and legs naturally worked together to send me flying over the sand.

I rushed forward and opened my mouth to bite down on Grimmjow. But he snapped out of it just in time to dodge so instead I got a mouthful of sand. Yuck. I raised my head up and shook my head, the sand falling back down to the ground, but some of it still staying in my mouth. I raised a hand up and tried to wipe the sand off my tongue. I wasn't really surprised to feel that I had a forked tongue like Dominique did.

As soon as the sand was off I turned back to face Grimmjow, who started coming back at me. He flashed his claws and tried to slice off my face, but I quickly turned around and felt my long tail collide with his body. The force of the hit caused him to get sent hurtling off out of sight. I snickered happily. I then began running towards him to do even more damage to him.

I caught a glimpse of Dominique and saw that her wings were raised up in the air, as if about to take off, but she was standing still. I paused. I turned my long neck back and saw that I didn't have wings like her, but instead huge spines that came from my shoulder blades. I felt a pang of disappointment go through me. I guess that I'd been expecting to have wings like Dominique did.

Even though I'd felt it through her memories what it was like to fly, I'd wanted to experience that for myself. I felt the desire to fly. I jerked in surprise as I felt a strange sensation on my back where the spines were. I watched as the spines grew longer and then formed into large bone wings before a membrane filled the space in between each wing tip.

I'd grown wings!

_'So my wings are retractable. I wonder if Dominiques are too'._ I thought to myself. I then suddenly felt tired again.

_'Dude. No time to be playing around. Remember, this is your first time hollowfying completely. Even Dominique couldn't stay fully hollowfied for a full minute when she first hollowfied. You need to finish this fight now"._ Hichigo said seriously. I could hear that he was exhausted too. I nodded my head before turning back to Grimmjow. He was looking at me with hate in his eyes.

He growled deeply before leaping up into the air. I raised my wings and took to the sky myself. My wings flapped clumsily though, new in their movements. I decided to stop using my wings and began using sonido again. I felt the same sensation that I'd felt when my wings emerged, but this time they were retracting. Grimmjow and I faced off in the air.

Then his claws began glowing as five large claw-like beams of light surrounded him. He smirked at me and got into a fighting stance.

_'What the hell is that'?_

"Desgarron. It's my ultimate technique! It's over Ichigo"! He said as he sent five of the attacks at me. I raised my clawed hands up and tried to stop the attacks, but they pushed me back. I could feel them digging into my hierro, but my flesh healed almost instantly. I became aware that Dominique and the others were behind me and if I didn't stop this attack, it would hit them.

"It's over! You're finished Ichigo! I am the king"! Grimmjow yelled victoriously as I continued to be overwhelmed by his attack.

Call it stubbornness if you will but I refused to let it get anywhere near Dominique, Orihime, and Nel. I roared and dug my claws into the attack. I used all the strength in my arms and shattered the attack. The sound of breaking glass surrounded me and the rest of the Desgarron fell to the ground on the other side of the pillar where the girls were at.

I sighed in relief, but I knew it wasn't over yet.

_'I need a blade of some sort'._ I thought to myself. I looked down at my arms and saw that they had large arm blades that were similar to Dominique's, although these blades curved outward instead of towards the arm and then there was the red fur that went around my wrist. I focused my thoughts on my right arm blade and willed it to move forward like I'd seen Dominique do on many occasions. And sure enough the blade detached from the upper part of my arm and swung downward to act like a sword.

I then looked to the other one as well and willed that one to extend as well. It extended even faster than the first one and I willed myself into a two legged position. I felt a growl rumble in my chest. Grimmjow looked at me in shock and sent the next set of Desgarron at me. I roared as I thrust my arms forward and felt my arm blades stick in the central attack.

I then used my back legs to force myself forward on the air and began running towards Grimmjow. I broke apart the Desgarron and charged at Grimmjow. Just as I was about to run him through I saw his expression change slightly. He looked at me, and lowered his arms instead of trying to move or block my attack.

He'd given up.

My right arm blade made contact with his hierro just under his heart. It pierced the hierro and exited through his back. He grunted in pain and looked at me with a grimace on his face as he lost consciousness. His body went limp and began to fall, slipping off my arm blade. I reached forward though and caught his right arm with my left clawed hand, making sure to retract the arm blade.

He was still alive, I could tell that much. But I'd won the battle. I then let myself fall towards the ground and gently set him on the sand. I didn't know if he'd live or not, but now that we had Orihime, we needed to go make sure the others were alright. I made my wings open again and took off into the sky.

I was still clumsy, no matter how much I tried to make my wings act right, they were off beat and were nowhere near as graceful as Dominique's flying.

_'Note to self. Get Dominique to teach me how to fly correctly'._ I thought to myself as I came around the side of the pillar. Where the girls were at. I landed on the stone and felt my body go numb. Then I was suddenly on my knees in my human form again. I felt my Tensa Zangetsu reappear in my right hand. Exhaustion washed through me, but I felt that my injuries were all healed up at least.

_'Gotta love that instant regeneration huh'?_ Hichigo chuckled. I smirked before I looked over at Dominique and the others. Orihime made her shield dissipate and I noticed that the look of fear in her eyes was all but gone. She smiled at me warmly. I smiled back, glad that she was safe.

"You guys okay"? I asked them. Dominique changed back into her human form and smirked at me. Orihime just kept smiling before she nodded her head. Then something hit me in the gut and I was sent flying off the edge of the pillar.

"ICHIGO"! Nel cried as she hugged me tightly. I looked down at the tiny arrancar.

"Are you crazy!? I'm standing in midair! You would have fallen hundreds of feet to your death if I hadn't caught you! Did you even think about that"?! I yelled at her.

"Nel's so happy. Ichigo, you're alive. Nel's so happy you didn't die". She cried happily. I sighed before smiling at her. I rested my hand gently on the cracked mask on her head.

"Thanks Nel". I told her. I then moved to stand back on the pillar and felt a pair of arms wrap around my neck gently from behind.

"Even though you're an idiot sometimes, I'm still proud of you". Dominique said as she nuzzled my back lovingly. I smiled. Orihime looked at us and simply smiled happily.

"I'm glad you're alright. Dominique told me a lot. And I'm happy for you". She said with a small smile on her face. It wasn't a full smile though. Then I remembered that Dominique had told me once that Orihime liked me, and actually still did even though Dominique and I were together. I'd known that for a while now, even before Dominique and I got together. It's just that I'd never really been attracted to her.

It looks like she still hasn't gotten over me yet. I let out a mental sigh. I then set Nel down on the ground and looked around, searching for the others reiatsus. We needed to get going.

"Rukia and Nami are safe. They're with some other Squad 0 members off to the east. It's Chad, Renji, Uryu, and Kyle's group that need our help. Unfortunately we'll have to let them know that Selena's dead". Dominique said while pointing out towards the rest of Las Noches. I nodded. It was my fault that Selena died. She died protecting me. In the end though she'd gave Orihime the few extra seconds she needed to get to me and start healing me.

"Well we better be going then". I said as I reached for Orihime. I'd taken her by surprise as I lifted her up and threw her over my shoulder. I knew I didn't have the strength to hollowfy again, so this would have to do. Orihime squirmed and fidgeted.

"Ichigo"! She squealed in shock. I looked back at her to see what was wrong.

"What is it Orihime"? I asked. She looked away from me, obviously trying to cover the blush on her face. But I could see that her ears were red, showing just how much she was embarrassed.

"W-what are you doing"? She stuttered.

"We need to hurry and get down from here. Flying's faster than trying to find the stairs. But I don't have enough reiatsu to hollowfy, and Dominique seems pretty tired herself so we're just gonna stay this way until our reiatsus recharge". I told her. I felt her fidget again.

"But I'm so heavy". She mumbled. I laughed, I was about to say that she wasn't as heavy as I'd thought she'd be, but then I remembered something that I'd heard Dominique yell at Shaun for once.

He'd commented on Emma's weight, and that had ended with him getting the snot beat out of him. After Dominique had helped hold him down for Emma to torture, she's dusted off her hands and smiled at me sweetly. She told me that a male should never talk about a woman's weight. So I quickly said something else.

"It's okay. You're not heavy". I said. I looked down and saw that Nel was looking up at me. She nodded smugly and I suddenly felt that I'd just avoided getting hit in a very sensitive area. I let out a relieved sigh and watched as Dominique scooped up Nel and we both leaped from the pillar and down to the ground. I set Orihime down and Dominique set Nel down on the ground as well.

"Now we need to go find the others". Dominique said while closing her eyes in concentration.

"But what about us"? Nel asked.

"You're not just going to leave us here are you"? Orihime asked.

"Of course not. You're coming with us. It's not safe here". I said just before I heard something move behind me. I looked back and saw that Grimmjow had regained consciousness and was walking towards us. He glared at me as he took a step forward. Then his hierro armor started to dissappear. It retracted back into the shape of a sword and he'd turned back to normal.

"I'm not giving up. There's no way, that I'd ever let you win"! Grimmjow yelled as he charged at me. I let my Tensa Zangetsu fall point first into the sand and stepped forward. I reached up and caught his wrist with my hand. I could feel that he was about five seconds from passing out again.

"Cut it out Grimmjow. You lost. I get that you see yourself as some kind of king, eating everyone around you until you're all alone. But what's the point in that. Wouldn't it be more fun if you and I fought again and again. After all, you seem to enjoy battle about as much as we shadow shinigami do". I said seriously to Grimmjow. He panted loudly as he glared up at me.

"Shut up-"! He was cut off by Dominique suddenly appearing and knocking him to the side. At first I didn't see the reason for that since I could have easily dealt with him myself. Then I saw the reason. A huge curved blade appeared that Dominique blocked with her Tensa Zangetsu. She sent the blade flying back to the wielder. The tall arrancar caught the huge blade with one hand, a toothy grin on his face that reminded me of Shinji.

"I'm surprised you protected that piece of trash. He should just hurry up and die already. But anyway, It's my turn to fight".

Me: How was that guys? I hope I gave a better version for Ichigo's hollow state. At least it isn't a lizard looking hollow anymore. I hope to have it drawn up soon and put up on deviantart.

Ichigo: Rawr!

Dominique: Rawr!

Me: Shut up!

Ichigo and Dominique: ...

Shiva: Thank goodness. I thought they'd never shut up.

Me: Go play in the closet or something.

Ichigo and Dominique:...*Runs off to the nearest BOCI (Bleach OC Insanity) closet*.

Me: Sheesh. Those two...am I right Shiva?

Shiva: *Nowhere to be found*

Me: ...Hichigo?

Hichigo: *Also gone*

Me: ...?

**.**

**.**

**.**

Me: Dammit. *Stalks off to go draw pictures*

Last One Standing by Simple Plan

GIVE A BIG THANK YOU AND A BAG OF CHOCOLATE TO ALL MY REGULAR REVIEWERS!

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